


Last Daughter

by DouglasAmongUs



Series: The Adventures of El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor [2]
Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Canon Compliant, Comfort, Coming of Age, Domestic Fluff, F/F, Family Feels, Light Angst, kara and lena are the best parents ever, where I remember
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-03
Updated: 2020-01-26
Packaged: 2021-02-27 09:40:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 53,264
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22095010
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DouglasAmongUs/pseuds/DouglasAmongUs
Summary: El Danvers-Luthor knows she's lucky, blessed really. She has a great family, people that support her, and two of the best mothers you could ask for. So why is she so focused on the one thing she doesn't have?Well, when one of your moms is a superhero and half your DNA is Kryptonian, you kind of expect certain things. Certain abilities. Only El is blessedly normal. What's a high school senior to do?A coming of age tale for the daughter of our favorite couple. Buckle up for lots of fluff and a bit of action.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Series: The Adventures of El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1616065
Comments: 467
Kudos: 644





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My first Supercorp fic, and my first AO3 fic ever!  
> Just an idea I had that would not get out of my brain.  
> Please enjoy and comment!

"El!"

The voice had been tempered by years of maternal as well as business experience, such that it echoed down the stairs, through at least two doors, and straight into the girl's ears, despite the added obstruction currently sitting on her head. The large, black, purring one. The girl shifted drowsily. She recognizes the tone of the voice. Specifically, it communicates that this is the second time it has called her name. The first being a courtesy, marking the time she should get up, and this, now, indicating that she should already be up. She rolled over and opened her eyes, discovering why she probably didn't hear the voice the first time.

"Streaky," she groaned. "You're sleeping on my face again."

The cat replied with a contented purr.

"We've discussed this," the girl added. "Sleeping in bed with me is fine, but my head is not a pillow."

The cat let out a self-satisfied _mrrow_ before rising off of the girl, planting two paws, one on her forehead, one on her nose, before he steps away. She groaned at her luck.

Every morning.

The girl let herself lay in bed for a minute, enjoying the softness of the sheets, the light filtering through the window, which she can enjoy now that her furry sleep mask has been removed.

"EL!"

Oh no, third time. That was the signal that she should already be getting ready but the owner of the voice was quite aware she wasn't. This was also where the speaker would mention there would not be another repetition.

"I'm not calling again!" There it was.

"I'm up!" the girl called back, kicking away the sheets before rolling out of bed.

This was also the part where she would be reminded that-

"You should already be up!" Damn, she was getting quicker.

El groaned again before padding over to her bathroom, rubbing sleep out of her eyes with the hem of her tank. She cursed, for the millionth time, the fact that she was not blessed with super speed, (like some people). If she was, she could blow through her morning routine in seconds, rather than minutes. Although, she had gotten pretty quick, which you could probably just blame on the voice upstairs. Nothing like an overly-concerned mother to light a fire under your feet.

As it was, she managed to brush her teeth, do her hair, and change clothes in just under 15 minutes, which must have been acceptable as when she stomped upstairs the only thing her mother had to say was, "There you are," with a slight glance over her shoulder as she stood at the kitchen counter.

"Sorry," El replied, taking a seat at the table. "Streaky still thinks my head makes a good cat bed."

Her mother shook own her head and raised a coffee mug to her lips. "You could just not let her sleep in the same room as you, you know?" She shot the girl a knowing glance. This was not the first time she'd mentioned that line of logic.

"Yeah," said El. "But then she scratches at my door and whines all night."

"Honestly," the older woman sighed, tossing raven locks over her shoulder. They cascaded in soft curls. "How your Jeju ever convinced me to get that thing."

"I'm pretty sure she gave you the same puppy eyes she always does." The girl looked up to the steely gaze of a woman who had stared down entire boardrooms. El couldn't help but smirk. "You know you've never been good at saying 'no' to her."

The woman set a plate of pancakes if front of the girl without a word. After a long moment, she huffed, a smile ticking at the corner of her mouth. 

“You should be glad,” the dark-haired woman said with a smirk of her own. “If I was, you might not be here.” She planted a kiss on top of her daughter's head. "Good morning, sweetie," she said before stepping away. She stopped, looking down at the girl critically.

"What?" El asked.

"Is that the same shirt you wore yesterday?”

“No!” Her daughter objected. “I have other shirts.”

“Sorry, Ellie,” her mother replied. “I sometimes forget your wardrobe is so…” She locked eyes with the girl as she searched her extensive vocabulary for the right term. “Consistent.”

“That’s good,” said El, sarcastically. “That’s a step up from ‘monochromatic.’”

Her mother raised her hands in defeat as she crossed the kitchen back to her coffee. This was not the first time they’d had this discussion. “Dress how you want,” the woman said. “Just so long as you-“

“Do your homework?”

Mom turned, coffee cup in hand, a look of maternal insult on her face. 

“Always obey the laws of thermodynamics?” Her daughter tried again.

“Oh, Ellie,” the woman replied with a dry chuckle. “Not even I do that.” She took a long draw from her mug. “I was going to say, ‘So long as you are true to yourself.’” 

She smiled warmly and was answered by an eye roll from the teenager. El dug into her pancakes. The culprit responsible for delaying her wake-up sauntered into the kitchen and wound himself around the girl’s ankles before strutting to the kitchen and sitting very innocently at the dark-haired woman’s feet. She peeked over the rim of her mug, glaring at the pet.

“You know, if you keep harassing my daughter like this, I’m liable to stop feeding you.”

Streaky answered with a demure _mew,_ which could very well melt the heart of the most stalwart, dog lover, but the raven-haired CEO was not so easily swayed. She was, eventually, swayed, of course, but not before a prolonged stare-down that she was confident conveyed her point to the creature. She reached into a cabinet and removed a can, peeled back the lid, and dumped the contents into a nearby bowl, before laying it on the ground next to the kitchen’s granite-countered island. The cat purred appreciatively before digging in.

“Aren’t you eating?” El asked as she cut another triangle off her stack.

Mom lifted her mug in response. “I have a brunch meeting this morning.” As if to sustain this point, her phone beeped. She pulled it out and replied to whatever notification she had just received.

A humming caught El’s ears. She didn’t have to guess at the source. She stepped in, happily bouncing on her heels, a moment later. 

“Good morning,” her Jeju said, her voice sing-songing as she entered the kitchen. She stepped right up to the raven-haired woman, who, although fully engrossed in her phone, immediately turned to meet her lips in a loving, if quick, kiss. “Morning, love.”

“Morning, darling,” Mom replied and turned back to her phone.

“Morning, little one,” the bubbly, blonde woman said, casting a smile over her shoulder to El. “How’d you sleep?”

“With the assistance of a feline face mask, apparently,” Mom chimed in without looking up from her phone. 

“Streaky!” Jeju shouted playfully, leaning down to the perpetrator, still chewing his food. “Again with the face-sitting? It’s like every night with you. You’re almost as bad as-“

“KARA!” Mom was quick to interrupt. 

The blonde looked back at her, nonplussed. “What, Lena?” She asked.

“That’s not exactly appropriate conversation for the breakfast table,” her wife replied aghast.

The blonde looked confusedly back and forth between the two most important women in her life. “I was going to say Streaky 1,” she replied. “He was always climbing all over me.” Her face broke into a sly grin. She sidled up to Mom. “What did you think I meant?”

Lena Luthor was not in the habit of blushing. In fact, there was only one person in the world who could get her to do it consistently, and she was currently snaking playful fingers around her hip. Mom countered this by looking at her phone harder.

“What did you mean?” Jeju asked mischievously. “Because I really don’t know. Why don’t you tell me?” She settled her chin on Lena’s shoulder. “I’m really curious, because I honestly have no idea.”

“I do,” the teenager chimed in, awkwardly pressing her glasses up her nose. “And I wish to Rao I did not.”

Jeju laughed before pulling out a plate and stacking the remainder of the pancakes on it while grabbing the syrup from the fridge. She set herself down at the chair opposite El and overturned the bottle. The maple-brown liquid cascaded over the cakes, stacked ten-high at least. Kara looked at her daughter as the syrup continued pouring with a wrinkle in her eyebrows.

“Is that the same shirt you wore yesterday?” She asked.

El let her fork clatter noisily to the plate. “I can change, if this is going to be an issue.”

Kara stared back. Her eyes swiveled to her wife. Lena stepped to stand by her chair, closing her phone, and wrapped an arm around her wife’s shoulders.

“El would like you to know she owns multiple, similarly-colored shirts,” she said.

“Ah,” Jeju replied. She cut a large chunk off the stack, now very much drowned in syrup, and shoved it in her mouth. She chewed for a moment, before gesturing with the fork back at El. “How is it?” She asked. “That she came from the two of us, fashion geniuses that we are?”

This was a factual statement. Jeju was dressed in stylish slacks and a pale cardigan with a button up underneath, the collar poking out, showing a pastel print that was so her, a tight but stylish ponytail sitting high on her head. Mom, meanwhile, was in one of her signature, business skirt and blouse combos, a picture in silk, coupled with expertly coiffed hair and a striking shade of lipstick, all of which announced to any room that this was a woman with a commanding presence that absolutely owned herself.

“And yet she chooses to dress entirely in black?” Jeju added with a humorous raise of her eyebrows.

“Two words,” replied Mom. “Auntie Alex. The hair is a dead giveaway.”

El ran a hand through her pixie bob of straight, similarly raven hair and recalled when she had first come home with the cut two years ago. Jeju had made a dramatic show of it, lamenting the death of her hair, so braid-able before. All in play, of course. Mostly. Mom, however, had said very little, only offering a “If that’s how you want to wear it” as she stared at the girl over a mug of tea. Right before she called Aunt Alex up on video-chat and asked her point-blank to explain herself. It hadn’t been her Aunt’s idea, of course, all El’s, but, yeah, there had been just a tiny bit of emulation involved.

Jeju sighed heavily as she stared across the table at her daughter. “Remember when we used to put you in pigtails?” She bemoaned through a mouthful of pancake. “And I’d spin you around like a helicopter, and they just went flying everywhere?” She sighed. “Good times.”

El rolled her eyes again. Mom joined her as she finally took a seat at the table. She picked up a napkin to wipe at the syrup dribbling down her wife’s chin.

“Kara, you’re going to embarrass her,” she said. 

“Hey, it’s senior year!” The blonde replied. “I’m allowed to get weepy and nostalgic.”

Lean shook her head and gave her daughter an empathetic look before turning back to her coffee. “I’m going to be in meetings all day,” she added to the girl. “And your Jeju’s got a late afternoon editing session. Do you think you’ll be okay getting home on your own?”

El nodded. “Oh, yeah, I’m actually meeting Alex at HQ after school.”

That got a look from both of her mothers. “For?” Kara asked.

The girl’s eyes darted around for a second. “Training?” She replied, which had the benefit of being not entirely a lie.

It was Mom’s turn to roll her eyes. “I appreciate that your learning self-defense, sweetie, and that your Aunt is teaching you, but isn’t that the 6th time this month?”

The girl shrugged in reply. More like 8, but she didn’t feel the need to correct her Mom.

“You know, there are plenty of other after-school activities,” Jeju offered with a half-chuckle. “Have you thought about drama team? Glee club?”

“Not my crowd,” said El.

“Debate?” The blonde woman added.

Mom and El groaned simultaneously.

“Kara, do you not remember freshmen year?” Lena asked.

The woman looked at her wife for a moment in thought. “I remember outrage. What were we outraged about?”

“Oh, just the fact that the topic El’s debate teacher picked was Alien Integration,” answered Mom.

“No, that was the second week,” El corrected. “The first week was Gay Marriage.” 

And, as luck would have it, El ended up on the team arguing the negative on both issues. It hadn’t ended well. Especially when the teenager turned to her teacher and asked, pointedly, if the next topic they were going to look at both sides of would be the Holocaust. That had resulted in a note home and a meeting with the principal, which involved the headmaster making some argument about reasoned discourse that both of her mothers nodded along with, before Jeju asked if she could quote him on that and the man realized she‘d had her recorder out the whole time, prepping, as she explained, for the CatCo magazine article that she was confident would ensure everyone in the country knew the name of the school as well as his own. El was not given a reprimand, but she was not invited back to debate ever again.

“Oh, right,” Kara said, a smile playing across her lips at the recollection. “Okay no debate. But there’s always glee club. Don’t knock it until you try it.”

“Whatever you say, darling,” Mom cooed as she winked at El. She finished her coffee and turned to her daughter before crossing back to the sink. “I know it’s silly to ask Alex to take it easy on you, but could you at least tell her to make sure you’re home by 7?”

El paused, fork halfway to her mouth. “Why 7?” She asked, catching eyes with first Jeju, then Mom, as the blonde glanced in her direction suspiciously.

“We were going to talk about colleges next year, remember?” Mom replied.

The girl’s face blanched. Oh right. She had forgotten. Her parents, naturally, read her trepidation entirely wrong.

“No pressure!” Jeju added quickly. “We just wanted to get your thoughts is all.”

“Deadlines are coming up,” Mom continued more evenly. “You know we’ll support whatever you decide, but you’ll need to decide soon.”

El nodded. The topic was a touchy one, but not for the reasons they seemed to think. Of course, she hadn’t told them the actual reason, and, despite what her Mom said, she couldn’t help but think it would be a choice they wouldn’t entirely support. But that was a revelation that could wait for tonight.

“Yeah,” she said instead. “7, got it.”

She finished her pancakes and set her plate in the sink. Jeju followed suit a minute later, and the women of the Danvers-Luthor clan began to make preparations to start their respective days. 

“Need a ride, little one?” Jeju asked.

Mom cut in before El could answer. “I’ll take her, darling. You know flying is a little noticeable with the two of you.”

“Right,” Kara said with another sigh, looking at her daughter. “Remember when I could put in the Baby Bjorn and fly you to preschool?”

“Jeju!” El groaned. She turned to her Mom. “I’m okay taking the bus.”

“Nonsense,” the raven-haired woman was quick to reply. “It’s on my way.”

El knew there was no point in arguing. She grabbed her book bag, threw on her boots, and waited by the door.

“See you tonight?” Jeju asked as she helped Mom put on her suit jacket.

“Of course,” Mom replied, grabbing her briefcase before turning and planting a kiss on her wife’s lips. She smiled before going in for a second.

“I can definitely take the bus,” El added as the lip locking persisted. That finally broke them up.

“Have a good day, little one,” Jeju replied before planting a wet one on El’s cheek. She smiled, then ran a hand through the girl’s short locks. The blonde woman turned and whined sadly as she stepped out the door.

There were advantages to having a Mom that was the CEO of the most powerful corporation on Earth, and another who was Editor-In-Chief of one of the most popular and respected publications in the world. A car service on call 24/7 with a response time under 10 minutes was one of them. Still, El could have taken the bus. She kind of wanted to as the conversation at breakfast gave her the desire to have at least a few minutes with her own thoughts. Luckily, Mom didn’t say much, checking her notes for the upcoming meeting. Halfway to school, though, she snaked a hand to hold El’s softly.

“You know your Jeju and I just want you to be happy,” she said without looking up from her files.

“Yeah,” El replied. This was not the first time they’d had a similar conversation. They were actually pretty good about that.

“MIT, Yale, UCLA, it doesn’t matter,” said Mom. “Wherever you want to go, you name it, the sky’s the limit.” She looked at her daughter now, earnestly. El looked back for a moment before turning to stare out the window.

“Yeah, I know.”

Her mother squeezed her hand. El let the bit of warmth wash over. She could admit how lucky she was. Despite the complicated nature of their lives, of both her mother’s careers especially, juggling world-affecting issues every day, that they still found time to remind her she was loved. It was more that a lot of ‘traditional’ or ‘normal’ families got, and she was thankful. Though that didn’t stop the anxiety fluttering in her chest. She pushed it down. It could wait.

The driver pulled up to the front of the school. El grabbed her bag, and Mom grabbed her face between her hands. She kissed her on both cheeks.

“I love you, Ellie,” she said.

“Love you too, Mom.”

“Go get ‘em,” the raven-haired woman replied with a grin.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's training time. Alex puts her niece through her paces, but what are the girl's real motives?

"Come on, kiddo, just a little harder."

El pushed with all her might, arm muscles flexing as she pressed against the bar pinned across her chest. She set her jaw and tried to breathe, tried to will the bar to move up just an inch. It remained solidly where it was. She grunted and pressed harder, palms scraping against the textured metal.

"Okay," she was told a moment later. "I think that's enough."

"No," the teenager protested through gritted teeth. "I can do it. I can do it." She pressed even harder. The bar moved an inch, then another. Her eyes shot open in elation. "I'm doing it. I'm doing it!"

"That's because I turned the machine off."

El looked down at the bar, which was moving now, quite without her help, lifting off her chest to tuck back against the machine. She sighed and let her tired arms flop down on the bench at her sides.

"So that's a 'no' on super strength?" she asked, her head flopping to one side to stare at her aunt.

The seasoned, DEO chief shook her head before making a note on her tablet. "That's a 'no'," she replied.

El sighed again, disappointed, before she set her jaw once more and reached for the bar. "Let's try again."

"I think 3 times is enough," Alex Danvers replied.

"No, I think I got it this time," the girl insisted and grabbed for the bar to pull it down into position. She pulled. It did not move. She tried again before deciding it probably wasn't proving her point that she couldn't even move the bar when the machine wasn't on. She let her arms flop down again.

"If it's any consolation, you are pretty strong for your age," Aunt Alex offered as some means of comfort.

"But not exceptionally so," El completed.

"'Fraid not."

"Maybe bench presses are the wrong workout," El suggested. "Why don't we try deadlifts or that salmon ladder thing?"

"We already tried deadlifts," Alex said. "And squats and arm curls. And I'm not putting you on the salmon ladder again. You fell off last time."

El looked around the training room of the Department of Extranormal Operations, a building she had spent roughly half her life in thanks to the 'extranormal' nature of her immediate and extended family.

"The treadmill?" she queried.

Her aunt's face spoke volumes and all the pages read 'no'. El deflated. Of course, they'd already done the treadmill and measured her punching strength and her visual and auditory perception. No super strength, no super speed, no super senses. No super anything. She wiped the sweat off her face with the collar of the DEO training shirt Alex had given her. Perspiration, another sure sign that she was hopelessly ordinary.

She felt Alex sit down beside her. El looked up into a worn but kind face. The laugh lines had deepened over the years and there was a shock of gray running the length of her bob, but she was every inch her Jeju's big sister. She threw an arm around the girl.

"Come on," she said after a minute. "I want to show you that throw I talked about last week."

El nodded and followed her aunt to the mat that covered the center portion of the room. The DEO head set the tablet down on a piece of equipment before kicking off her shoes and taking a fighting stance. El mirrored her. The older woman took her through their normal drills. The teenager had been working with her aunt in martial arts for the better part of the last year, though, if she was being honest, her aunt had been teaching her how to punch and kick since she could walk. This latest concentration had been at the girl's suggestion. Of course, she had had ulterior motives.

Alex swung and El deftly parried the blow, getting under her aunt's guard with a smile and tapping her knuckles softly against her ribs.

"Good," Alex replied before repositioning. She threw the same combo, which the girl again avoided, coming in for the shot again, only for her feet to suddenly be swept out from beneath her. "Don't get cocky," Alex added to the teenager currently sprawled out on the mat.

"Noted," El replied as Alex hauled her back up.

They continued to spar. The girl was quick, a fast learner. She had definitely inherited her mothers' tenacity, or their stubborn determination at least.

"I've been thinking," El said breathlessly, a few minutes later. "Maybe lab conditions are insufficient."

Alex raised an eyebrow as she threw a back fist. "What do you mean by that?"

"Well," the girl said, ducking the blow. "You always say there's a difference between action and reaction."

"I do."

"So what if that's the missing piece?" El kicked, Alex dodged, and the girl followed it up with a second kick that her aunt caught in her hands. "What if it's a danger sense thing?"

Alex tossed the foot away. She leveled an even, but steely, stare at the girl. She raised a finger. "No."

"You have to admit it's a sound theory."

"I do not have to admit that."

"The body reacts differently when adrenaline is involved," El said.

Her aunt replied with a lightning quick kick. El blocked it, only for the woman to follow it up with another back fist, distracting the girl, so she could step in, plant a foot behind her heel and bring her down to the mat.

"Adrenaline is involved, kiddo," Alex said with a hand planted on the girl's chest.

El huffed, then smirked. Her legs shot up to clamp around her aunt's neck.

"Yeah," she said. "But I know you're not going to hurt me."

Alex clenched the girl's shirt in her fist and hauled her off the floor. The girl saw herself dangling almost comically off the woman's arm.

"Crap," she added.

"Language, young lady," Alex said sternly, shooting her own practiced mom-glare.

"Sorry," Said El. " _Merde_? дерьмо? たわごと?"

She watched as the smile spread across her aunt's cheeks. The woman shook her head.

"Tell me what exactly is insufficient about being the polyglot, genius daughter of a superhero and the most powerful woman on the planet?" Alex asked.

El's face fell. "What if I could be more?"

Alex sighed empathetically. "You don't have to be, kiddo. That's the point."

"But what if I could be?" the girl insisted. She released her legs. Alex lowered her to the mat. The teenager stepped away and kicked the padded surface. "I just don't understand why I'm not."

"Genetics," Alex replied.

"But I have the genes," El moaned. "You said so. I'm half-Kryptonian. Even if I'm not on Jeju's level, shouldn't I show something?"

Alex stepped nearer and ran a hand up her niece's back. "There's a difference between having genes and expressing them," she said. "People carry lots of DNA that remains dormant or is overshadowed by genes inherited from their other parent."

"How could my human DNA overshadow my Kryptonian?"

"Hey, your Jeju may be strong, but that doesn't mean her double helix is out there beating down on weaker species," Alex laughed. She shrugged. "It's a roll of the dice, that's all."

El's head dropped. "I thought training might fix it," the girl sighed again. She looked down her body. “I thought puberty might fix it.”

"Trust me, kiddo, puberty usually creates more problems than it solves."

El looked off in thought again. "Dormant gene expression can be activated, right? Mom's medical R&D has been working on retroviral applications to screen for certain kinds of cancers."

"No," Alex replied.

"No, I'm right. She was talking about it last week."

"I know you're right," Alex replied. "I'm saying, 'no, we're not submitting you to gene therapy to turn on your powers!'"

"But you have to admit-"

"No, I most certainly do not," her aunt shot back.

El frowned then bit her lip. "Well, that just leaves the danger sense avenue for testing."

"No, because I already put the kibosh on that, kiddo." Alex rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Do you remember what I told you when I first agreed to this?"

El's shoulders slumped.

"What did I say?" the DEO director asked.

El groaned. "That you would only help me as long as I didn't become obsessive."

"Exactly," Alex said. "And that was also the condition which guaranteed I didn't tell your mothers, either. You agreed to it."

"Only because you made me."

"Yes, for this exact eventuality!"

"I'm not saying a lot of danger," the girl continued. "Just enough to incite a reaction. How else are we going to test flight?"

The woman looked at her like she read her mind. "I am not throwing you off a building, El."

The teenager's mouth opened to answer then froze. The steely gaze had gotten more iron-hard. "Well, not a tall one," came the reply.

"No."

The girl stamped a foot. "Punch me then."

"Excuse me?"

"Punch me," El repeated. "See if I have superior reaction time."

"We already tested reaction time, El."

"Under controlled conditions." the girl said. "That's my point."

Alex spread her arms to the mat. "You call this controlled conditions?"

El looked around, unable to counter her point, for the moment. "Yeah, but this is sparring. I know it's coming."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "You want me to cold cock you?"

"Yeah." The girl's face was entirely earnest.

"I'm not punching you in the face, kiddo."

"You just did like a minute ago."

"That was under controlled conditions."

"Ah-hah!" the girl cried, a defiant finger in her aunt's face. The DEO chief looked unimpressed. "Just a quick one," she insisted. "I know you have enough control that you won't actually hit me, just stop like a centimeter in front of my face. I've seen you do it."

Alex shook her head.

"Come on!"

"No, El."

The teenager sighed. "Okay, I understand."

"Thank you," her aunt replied.

"You've slowed down. It's totally understandable for your age."

Alex's eyebrow twitched. "That's not going to work."

"I mean, granted, Vasquez has told me all kinds of stories of you in your heyday," the girl soldiered on, suppressing the smile as best she could. "But it's been desk duty for like, what, a decade now?"

"You are dancing on thin ice, young lady."

"I assumed, naturally, that you were just holding back because you didn't want to hurt me, but maybe I was wrong."

"I could lay you out with my pinky, and we both know it."

"That's a lot of talk from a woman who's already on the AARP mailing-"

So that was a 'no' on super reflexes.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> College talk time. Awkwardness ensues.

El let herself into the penthouse quietly, hoping that it was unnecessary, that Mom and Jeju had gotten delayed, that she had managed to make it home before them. Maybe then she could sneak into the bathroom and grab some concealer. She quickly learned this was not the case, and that she was not nearly as sneaky as she thought, when a familiar voice called from the kitchen.

"Hi, sweetie," Mom said. "Dinner's almost ready."

El didn't have to wonder how she knew it was her. If the extrasensory perception that belonged to all moms wasn't enough, Jeju rarely used the front door in the evenings, preferring the balcony or the skylight. The girl gathered her hair, trying to pull it down over her eye as she dropped her bag, kicked off her boots, and stepped into the kitchen.

"Jeju had to wrap some things up at the DEO," Mom said, her back to the girl, standing at the stove. "But she should be on her way." Her hair was up in the messy bun she preferred after a long day, paired with the comfortable pants and sweatshirt as well as bare feet that signaled the CEO was gone and the woman was in full mom/wife mode. "How was your day?"

"Fine," the girl replied, kicking herself a moment later for the short answer and obvious tone that no doubt signaled to every parental figure in a 6-mile radius that 'something was up.'

Mom glanced over her shoulder at the girl, spatula in hand. "Everything all right?"

"Yeah," the girl replied quickly, again the entirely wrong move, which she further compounded by adding, "Fine. Nothing big."

The dark-haired woman stared at her. El crossed to the living room, hoping to distract the motherly gaze with the television. It was fine if she was suspicious, just so long as she didn't notice-

"What's wrong with your face?'

_Damn._

The girl straightened involuntarily. "Nothing," she lied and immediately heard the sure steps of her mother behind her.

"Turn around," the woman ordered.

El complied, tilting her head just enough so the hair fell just right. Lena reached out a hand and swept the locks aside, revealing the small, but noticeable, bruise just above her cheek. She stared, eyes wide. El stared back. The girl opened her mouth to explain.

"I'm killing your Aunt Alex," Mom said.

"Mom."

"I'm serious."

"Mom-"

"I've held a gun," the woman insisted. "I know how to shoot people."

"It was an accident!" That, at least, was the truth. El had been right, Alex Danvers had the skill, training, and control to stop her punch on a dime and, indeed, had, as she would never have willfully, full-on, punched her niece in the face. El, however, had been so startled by the surprise punch that she had jerked her head, not backward as would have been wise and natural, but forward, effectively head butting her aunt's knuckles. Thus, the bruise.

"I do not care." Lena indicated the bruise. "This is not acceptable!"

"It's not that big a deal."

"Baby!" Lena cried and held her daughter's chin lovingly but steadfast, such that the teenager could not wriggle free. Her mother stared with concern at her for a long minute, before planting a kiss on her cheek and asking, "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yes, Mom," El replied. "I'm fine. Really."

The woman sighed again but released her. It seemed the moment had passed. That is, until, a familiar figure alighted gracefully on the balcony outside, cape billowing heroically around her. The blonde hero waved and stepped inside.

"Hey, you two," Jeju said. "What's up?"

El closed her eyes with a groan, knowing what was coming.

"Oh, just admiring the shiner your sister gave our daughter," Mom said a second later, stepping aside to let her wife see.

When El opened her eyes it was to her Jeju's utterly appalled face.

"Alex did that?" she yelled.

El opened her mouth to explain, but Mom simply nodded. Jeju shook her head.

"Oh, no," she said. "Absolutely not." She proceeded to dig her communicator out of her ear, pressing a button on the side to switch it to speaker mode. "Alex!"

"Hey, Kara," came the tinny voice. "You get home okay?"

"Oh, yes," Kara replied. "Here I am, right now, looking at my precious, baby girl. Anything you want to explain to me?"

There was a pause on the other end. El prayed as hard as she could that she wouldn't get ratted out.

"She forgot to duck."

_Yes! Thank you, Aunt Alex._

"What do you mean 'she forgot to duck'?" Jeju yelled back in utter disbelief.

"It was an accident," El added.

"She juked right when she should have juked left," Alex said.

It really was nothing. Moreover, the consequences had already been leveled. Alex had been mortified, even going so far as to ban El from even asking her about more training for at least two weeks. Personally, the girl would be just fine if everyone forgot all about this.

"Alex, if it's not too much of an imposition," Kara pressed on. "Could you please see to it that my daughter does not come home with battle scars!?"

"I'll certainly take that under advisement."

"Thank you!" Jeju said indignantly. "Good evening!"

"Love you," came the director's reply.

Jeju's face twisted as her own outrage fought with her innate good-naturedness. "Love you, too," she added under her breath before shutting the communicator off. She looked up at El and leveled a finger. "Glee club," she said solidly. "No one ever gets punched in glee club." She crossed the room immediately and planted a kiss on the girl's other cheek. El squirmed uselessly in her grasp. Jeju finally released her with an exasperated sigh before crossing to the bedroom to change out of her super suit.

"Go wash up," Mom said. "Dinner's almost ready."

* * *

As battle scars go, it was not all that impressive, but when your Mom has a history of assassination attempts and your Jeju regularly takes punches that would level a small building, visible injuries tend to carry a lot of weight. More than anything, El was just mad at herself that she had taken the hit at all. She had been trying to prove a point with Alex, and she had, just not the one she wanted to. The bruise was visible evidence of that. El stared at it in the mirror in the bathroom and fiddled with her glasses.

Those had really been the linchpin, now that she thought about it. The first and last sign of exactly how extraordinary she wasn’t. It was one thing not to show powers. After all, no one expected kids to lift cars or float, so they weren't likely to put them into situations that might require that. Not if they were good parents anyway. And maybe she wouldn't be as strong or as fast as Jeju, but she could hold out hope that she'd be something. Then, it turns out, she's short-sighted. How very prognostic. So she had to wear glasses, which meant she was emulating Jeju's signature look, if nothing else.

Dinner was pleasant, as it tended to be. Everyone went about explaining their day. Jeju managed to disrupt an armored car robbery before lunch and still make her issue meeting. Mom had clinched a major deal overseas. And El had gotten punched in the face.

Okay, other things had happened. School was fine. She was on track to be valedictorian, to no one's surprise, but somehow that was still the biggest takeaway from the day. It felt like to her at least.

Soon enough, the pasta was eaten, the table was cleared, the dishes were washed, and the three Danvers-Luthor women found themselves settled on the couch for their nightly ritual of arguing over what movie/documentary to stream. Or so El thought.

The teenager plopped down on the couch and stared at the TV, noticing immediately that it was not on. She glanced over at her parents, sitting together at the other end of the sofa from where she was tucked in on the chaise side. They looked at her warmly but expectantly. She stared back.

"What?" she asked finally.

"Well," Jeju started. "What were your thoughts?"

"About?" El had to ask.

"College, sweetie," said Mom.

Oh, right. The awkward conversation that she had to have today that had been overshadowed in her mind by the other awkward conversation.

"Oh," came the teenager's reply.

"Your Mom and I are not trying to pressure you," Jeju assured her. "We just want to know what you're thinking. If you have any places you were looking at."

The girl's mouth hung open. Her mothers, naturally, took that as invitation to assure harder.

"I know it can seem daunting," her Mom added. "After all, you really could get in anywhere. But don't feel like you have to make the 'right' decision. What's important is that it's your decision. We know you'll thrive wherever."

"Yeah," Jeju agreed.

El continued to not answer. Her hesitation, however, was not for the reasons her parents clearly thought it was, namely that she was an 18-year-old who did not know what she wanted to do with her life and was about to make the biggest decision she had ever been responsible for up until now. The real reason she hesitated to answer, of course, was something much less complicated, but, by that very token, something that was sure to become complicated the moment she said it.

Mom grabbed her briefcase, hidden behind the couch arm, and pulled out several stacks of papers. "I've had my assistant pulling pamphlets from major institutions," she said, arraying the brochures out on the coffee table. "Granted these might not offer the best picture of each school as a whole, but, if you narrow it down, I can do more research, and we can even schedule campus visits, if you like."

"Your Mom and I are willing to clear our schedules," said Jeju. "We can check a different college out every weekend if that's what it takes."

They paused, waited, and interpreted the daughter's silence as invitation to try a different tack.

"If you need suggestions, of course," Mom started. "We absolutely can offer them."

"Not that we're pressuring you," Jeju quickly added.

"No, of course, not," Mom replied. "You do not have to go anywhere we went or even anywhere prestigious, but if you need help deciding, you know we will help. But again, no pressure."

"That's right," echoed Jeju. "Despite what your mother is wearing, we are not trying to steer you to any one place."

Mom's forehead wrinkled. She looked down and finally noticed she was wearing her MIT sweatshirt.

"Oh!" she cried. She looked around nervously, then grabbed a throw pillow and clutched it in front of her chest. "This was unintentional, sweetie. You do not have to go to MIT."

"Unless you want to go MIT," Kara added.

"Yes!" Lena seconded. "In that case, you will absolutely go to MIT! There will be no stopping you. Furthermore-"

El's hands shot up, finally, in exasperation. The supportive parent, college train ground to a screeching halt. Kara and Lena exchanged glances.

"That was a little overbearing, wasn't it?" Mom asked.

"Just a little," El admitted.

"We're sorry, little one," said Jeju. "We're just excited. This is a big step, and we know you're going to do so great wherever you go. We want you to know that."

"We support your decision 100%. Even if you don't want to go to college," Mom said, then quickly added, "Right away."

"Yes, you could take a gap year. People do that. Get real world experience. That would be great for you! And-" Jeju's head spun to her wife's as they both realized they were starting again. Lena grabbed Kara's hands and intertwined them in her own, setting them down between them as a grounding method before they turned and smiled at their daughter to please talk before they got going again.

El breathed. "I appreciate the..." She looked down at the brochures on the table. "Effort," she said. "I know you both support me, and I love you for that."

"We love you too, baby," Jeju quickly added before buttoning up.

El breathed again. In the end, it was just better to have it out, to spare them both the continued freak out. "The truth is," she said, calmly. "I already know where I want to go."

Her parents simultaneously breathed a sigh of relief, deflating almost completely.

"Oh, thank Rao," Jeju exclaimed.

"That makes this so much easier," added Mom, and she swept an arm across the table, pushing the brochures onto the floor. They both leaned forward, Jeju with her chin positioned excitedly on her hands.

"Well?" Kara asked.

 _Oh, Rao_ , El thought, _this was almost worse_. She took a breath. "NCU," she said.

Her mothers stared back, clearly trying to parse out the acronym and coming up blank.

"North Carolina?" Mom ventured.

"Northern California?" Jeju tried.

"National City," El corrected.

They stared in silence for a minute.

"University?" Mom asked a little louder than she meant to.

El nodded.

"Well, that's, uh," Jeju said. "Great?"

"Of course, yes," Mom added, though she didn't sound sure. "I mean..." She stared between her wife and daughter. "Can we know why?"

And that was the question. It was, to be specific, the question El didn't think she could answer. At least she didn't want to. She chose to shrug and try and deflect.

"Jeju went there," she said. "And Aunt Alex."

"Okay, yeah, but..." Mom started again, glancing at her wife for support and getting nothing. "You know you don't have to go where your Jeju, or your aunt, went. Like **we** told you." And she emphasized 'we' with a nudge to Kara who seemed to catch on.

"Right," she said. "You don't have to."

"But I want to," said El.

Jeju turned back to Mom, who could only look more confused.

"Okay," Lena said. "But, I mean, is there a reason you'd select NCU over... everywhere else?"

El bit her lip. "What happened to supporting my decision?"

Kara looked at her wife with mild accusation at that, and Lena looked at her wife with a narrowed gaze. "I am," she said, softening as she turned back to El. "I am, sweetie, I do. I just want to understand. Because you could go anywhere." She looked back and forth, then seemed to decide it wasn't worth dancing around. "Why the hell NCU?"

"Hey!" Kara objected.

"Kara, she's brilliant," Mom insisted. "She could go to MIT or Harvard or CalTech. She could go to Oxford if she wanted. She has potential!"

Kara turned bodily towards her. "I had potential, and NCU worked out just fine for me."

"That's my point, darling," Lena fired back. "You could have gone anywhere, too, if you had a rich mother to pay for it and the kind of connections we do!"

Kara's mouth opened. "Oh," she said. "I guess you're right." They both turned to El now. "Little one, don't you think... I mean wouldn't you be more comfortable in a place that could...?" She looked to Lena.

"Fully utilize your potential?" The dark-haired woman completed.

El looked between them. This was just as she feared. She looked for an out, relying on her two weeks of debate from freshman year and a lifetime of watching her Mom work a room.

"Ivy League isn't everything," she said. "Jeju wrote an article about that. Statistically it's not a determining factor in lifelong fulfillment."

Lena glared at her wife, who could only raise her hands defensively. "She has a point," Jeju added nervously, to a further glare.

"It may not, but it can't hurt," Mom replied. "And I give money to these places, so it seems only fair my daughter reaps the benefits of a competitive education."

"So we're buying my entrance now?" El said. "Because Jeju wrote an article about that, too." It was bordering on emotional manipulation at this point, but, oh, Rao, did she need to get out of this conversation.

"I am not," Lena replied sternly. "You would absolutely earn your acceptance. Everyone in this room knows that."

Kara looked at her daughter. "She has a point."

El stared at her mothers, then just gave up. "I just want to go, okay?" she said. "NCU has good programs. I like it, and I like National City. I want to go."

She looked down at the floor, for want of anywhere else to look but at the other end of the couch. Her mothers watched her in silence.

"Okay, baby," Mom said softly after a while. "If that's where you want to... Okay."

"Okay," El repeated. She finally looked up and could see the concern painted in their eyes. It was like the bruise but so much worse. The teenager slid off the couch. "I have homework,” she said and padded down the stairs to her bedroom.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all you need is a good, if hard, conversation. Softness ensues.

It hadn't exactly gone like she wanted. Then again, what she wanted was completely unquestioning acceptance of whatever she was going to tell them, and, considering that was a logical impossibility given the circumstances, she figured she just about broke even, all things considered. El sat at her desk, in her room, and took her time with calculus, trying to keep her mind on anything else but what had gone on upstairs. Streaky purred lightly in her lap. She stroked the cat's fur.

There was a knock at her door. The girl turned to see Mom standing in the open doorway. El didn't have to ask to know she had been standing there a while before knocking. The woman's hair was down from the bun, falling in messy, yet still pretty waves around her face. Green eyes stared at the girl with love and concern.

"Can I come in?" the woman asked softly.

El nodded. Lena padded over to the bed and sat down. El turned to the desk and waited, not trying to be rude but not sure how to proceed. A hand suddenly grabbed the back of her chair. Streaky hopped out and found somewhere else to purr while her Mom dragged the girl across the carpet, spinning the chair to face her. El had to smile at the playfulness. Mom did too. Then her eyes dropped down. She pulled the chair so that her daughter's knees rested against her own. She wrapped her hands around El's. They were warm and so soft.

They sat for some time like that, hands clasped in silence. Finally the dark-haired woman spoke.

"I've told you what kind of environment I grew up in," she said solemnly.

El knew. Mom had never been overeager to share, but she had also never hesitated to tell her daughter the truth, especially as it concerned the kinds of people she had tried her whole life not to be.

"There was little love," Lena continued. "But lots of expectation. That's not to say I didn't find my own means of rebellion, but..." She sighed. "Even if I hadn't wanted a PhD, multiple PhD's, I still would have gotten them. I wouldn't have had a choice." She stroked her thumbs over the back of El's hands. "Kara, Jeju, she had it a little better. Krypton was beautiful and advanced, but she had to leave. And the Danvers, well, you know. There was so much love there. Your Grandma Eliza was, is… Well, i don't have to tell you," she laughed, then bit her lip. "But there was expectation too. There was hiding and worrying and learning to control who she was and what she could do, trying not to be too extraordinary lest someone ask questions. And Midvale is nice, but when you're from another planet, and your cousin is Superman, that gives you a kind of wanderlust, I guess. Even then, it took her a while to find herself. You know that."

El nodded. She knew that, too. She knew all the stories. They had filled her life since birth. Trials and hardships, but always overcoming, always coming together. Stronger together. Both of them had taught her that.

"When we decided to have you," Lena continued, a wet edge to her voice. She shook her head. "Even before that. When we were even thinking about being parents at all, we both agreed that, no matter what, the one thing we wanted to give you, to give our children was love." The woman looked up now, tears rimming her eyes. "Unconditional love. So much love that you could just drown in it. We told ourselves that however you turned out, whatever you wanted to do with your life, if it was reporter or scientist or... garbage collector! It didn't matter. We would support you, and we would make sure you had every opportunity to be the best garbage collector you could possibly be, and I knew I would be the proudest, damn, garbage collector's mother there ever was! I would hang pictures all over my office, and I would introduce you at important events as my daughter, the garbage collector, and people would stare and scoff, and I would tell them to go to hell. That's my daughter!"

El laughed. So did her Mom, tears in her eyes. The girl didn't disbelieve for a moment that she was sincere. Her Mom grew quiet. She reached a hand to stroke El's cheek before staring down at her hands again.

"I never thought," she said with a heavy sigh. "That the downside to a loving, supportive home would be that you wouldn't want to leave it."

El's mouth dropped open as the full weight of her mother's words hit her. "Mom-" she started only for the dark-haired woman to raise a hand to her lips and stare into her eyes.

"It's okay," she said. "Let me finish, please." She stroked her cheek again. "I know that it can be scary to leave home. It wasn't exactly like that for me, but I wanted to get out so badly. I know, though, what a daunting task it is, not just to live on your own but to leave all the comfort and safety and familiarity behind, everything you've known since birth. And maybe it's my fault you haven't had that experience yet. I didn't want to send you to boarding school because, well, I didn't want to traumatize you, but I also didn't want you to grow up without me, without us, without all the love we have for you, and there is so much, Ellie-baby. It's just bursting from every corner. And maybe you're scared about leaving that behind, but, sweetie, no matter how far away you went, you could never be too far for us." She smiled. "And I mean that practically, your Jeju can break the sound barrier, and I own a private jet. We could be those obnoxious, helicopter parents who drop by every weekend. We would annoy the hell out of you."

El laughed again. "Mom," she said again as the woman cradled her face in her hands. "I'm not afraid."

"Baby, don't you want to see the world?"

"You own a private jet," the girl replied. "We see the world like three times a year."

"I mean on your own."

"I don't need to." And her mother opened her mouth to object. "I mean, I belong here." She bit her lip, the truth itching at her. "I can't really say why, but I do. This is my home. You are my home, and I just... I don't want to be anywhere else."

Lena looked over her daughter's face, tracing it's every curve and line as El did hers. "El, Kara and I are such capable people. We would hate to think we were limiting you in any way."

"You're not, I promise."

"But if we were," Mom repeated. "If the thought even entered your head, please, just know that we could never want anything for you but happiness."

"I know."

"But we also want you to live up to everything you are capable of," the woman added. "And that means meeting challenges head on."

"Mom, I do."

"I know, baby, but I don't want you to stop. Because you are amazing, El, so amazing. You astound me every day, and I hope you are content, but I also don't want you to ever stop reaching. I want you to grow and live and leave the nest, because that's how you learn to fly."

She stared at her daughter, her eyes suddenly going wide as she realized that metaphor carried a very specific connotation in their family.

"That was a bad example," she backpedaled. "I shouldn't have picked birds. What I meant was-"

El wrapped her arms around her mother's neck. The woman went silent. She leaned her forehead against the girl's.

"You know we love you more than anything in the universe, right?"

"I do, Mom."

"And if you want to go to NCU, then you will go," the woman averred. "I will have to fund an entirely new science wing for them, of course."

"Mom," the girl objected.

"After you're accepted," Lena replied. "But if my daughter is attending a university, I am going to make sure it is top-of-the-line. That's just a given." She pulled back slightly. "And if you change your mind." Her hand rose again to stop the girl's objection. "Not that you will or you have to, but if you do, we'll figure it out. We'll always figure it out. You understand?"

The girl nodded. "Stronger together," she said.

Her Mom smiled. "Always," she whispered and kissed her girl on the nose. She then spun her in her chair and pushed her back towards the desk, both of them laughing. "Need any help?" she asked, looking over the open textbook.

"It's differential equations, Mom," El said. "You've had me doing those since I was 12."

"Well, then you should be done in time to get to bed at a reasonable hour." She pressed a kiss to the top of the girl's head. "Good night, Ellie-baby."

"Good night, Mom.”

So, it wasn’t perfect. There was still the lingering specter of ‘potential’ hanging over her head. But El Danvers-Luthor could admit one thing.

She had some amazing mothers.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El asks her Aunt for one last test, and it's a big one.

“Eye’s looking better,” Alex commented as they sat at the yogurt shop downtown. Their usual spot when they weren’t sparring, or testing, at DEO HQ, and the only place Alex would agree to meet El after the ‘incident’ of a few days ago as the moratorium was still very much in place.

“It is,” El replied, spooning another bite of gummy bear-stuffed, cheesecake-flavored goodness into her mouth.

“Thanks, by the way,” Alex added. “There’s really nothing like getting lectured at by both of your moms.”

“I tried to hide it,” El apologized. “I really did, but they’re just too good. And only Jeju yelled at you.”

“That was just the part you heard,” said the DEO chief. “Your Mom dropped by my office the next day, and Kara is a sock puppet compared to her. Granted, Kara is a sock puppet compared to most people when it comes to stern talking-to’s. Still, if I hadn’t already been convinced to make you take a break from sparring, that certainly would have done it for me. To avoid a second round of that, if nothing else.”

El rolled her eyes. “Is it my fault you punch so hard?”

“It is when you ask me to do it,” Alex replied. “And then lean into it.”

El rolled her eyes again, then shoved more yogurt in her mouth in place of a cogent comeback. She watched Alex swirl her own yogurt around absentmindedly with her spoon.  
“So, your Mom mentioned you wanted to go to NCU.”

El practically groaned. She knew it. You didn’t have to be a genius to guess.

“Did she tell you during your dressing down?” El asked.

“Yeah,” said her aunt. “She wanted to know if I had suggested it to you at all. I, of course, hadn’t, but after this.” She motioned to her eye. “It was kind of hard to convince her.”

“Yeah, she and Jeju kind of freaked out a little bit,” El replied quietly.

“I can imagine.” Alex spun her spoon again. “Any particular reason you picked NCU? Because, kiddo, listen, I love the hair and your general kick-ass nature, you know that, but if you feel the need to attend my alma mater-“

“It’s not that,” the girl interrupted. “I just want to go to NCU, okay?”

She hoped that was sufficient answer. She forgot, for a moment, that Alex was also a mother, as well as a trained interrogator, and could recognize suspicious tone from a mile away. She leaned down to scrutinize the teenager’s face even as El was trying to look away.

“Kiddo, is there another reason you don’t want to leave National City?” She asked, serious notes all through her voice.

El didn’t say anything. She didn’t have to. Her Aunt Alex was smart. Moreover, she had the necessary data that her mothers didn’t.

“Oh,” she said, sitting back.

El looked into her eyes and knew she knew. Alex stabbed the spoon into the yogurt once more. She pulled out a bite and licked it off without a word.

“Kiddo-“ she finally started.

“If you’re going to tell me I’m being stupid,” the girl cut in. “I’d rather you didn’t.”

“I wasn’t,” said Alex softly. “I will tell you that short-term decisions can lead to long-term consequences, and I would really hate to see you pass up opportunities, good opportunities, for something that’s not-“

The girl caught her gaze at once.

“That may not,” Alex corrected. “Pan out.”

El stabbed her own yogurt, pulling off a large chunk and chewing it for a long while. Alex said nothing else. El dropped her spoon noisily into the empty bowl.

“Everyone keeps saying this is my life,” she said. “I’d really like it if they let me live it.”

She felt her aunt’s hand on her shoulder. “Of course, kiddo,” she said. “But those of us who love you still get to. You can’t stop that.”

“Here, here,” came a voice that broke their reverie. 

“Hey, babe,” Alex said as her wife sidled up to the table, planting a quick kiss on her.

“Hi, Aunt Kelly,” El said, momentarily miffed at her and her aunt’s isolation being invaded, but still happy to see her other beloved aunt.

“How’s it going, Elmo?” The woman asked as she slumped down into a chair by Alex. She peered across the table, squinting noticeably. “You know your Mom made it sound like my wife took a sledgehammer to your face, but I think she may have been exaggerating just a tad.”

“She called you, too?” El moaned.

“Oh, yeah,” replied Kelly. “It was all hands on deck there for about 24 hours. I wouldn’t be surprised if your grandmother knew. Come to think of it, I’d be very surprised if she didn’t and wasn’t on her way right now to give her oldest daughter a piece of her mind.”

“Oh, goodie,” said Alex sarcastically. “Something to look forward to.”

“So what are you two talking about?” Kelly asked.

El panicked for all of a second, but her Aunt Alex, the seasoned secret agent, was not ruffled a bit.

“El’s thinking about going to NCU.”

“Really?” Kelly replied, surprised at the revelation in a pleasant way for once. “Well, that’ll certainly save us on flights come the holidays.”

El had to smile. The woman was somewhat talented at finding the icing. The girl was thankful for it, given the subject matter, and the reactions thus far.

“Any particular reason?” The woman asked. “I know Alex and Kara both went, but, what with your Mom, I would have expected some place a little more upscale. Not that I’m one to talk, of course. After all, my daughter decided West Point was more her speed.”

“Astrid seems like she’s enjoying it,” El replied.

Alex’s head snapped in her direction. “She calls you?!”

El looked back confused and nodded. “Yeah,” she said hesitantly. “We video-chatted last week.”

Alex threw up her hands in aggravation. Kelly patted her side gently. El looked between them.

“I take it you haven’t talked to her lately?” The teenager wisely divined.

“Not since R-day, actually,” Kelly replied. 

“One call,” Alex groaned. “An email. Text message. It’s the modern military. We have the technology!”

“It’s like I told you, Alex,” Kelly explained softly. “Barracks life is tough. They tease you if you call home too often.”

“So that means never calling home at all?” Alex objected. She turned to El and held up her fingers a millimeter apart. “I am this close to chartering a Chinook and airdropping right onto the parade grounds. With an escort. See how much her classmates want to tease her then.”

Kelly patted her wife’s arm again and gave the teenager a knowing shake of her head. She looked down at the yogurt.

“Mmm,” she hummed. “That looks good. I think I’ll grab one of my own. You want anything, babe?”

“No, I’m good,” Alex waved her off with a grumble.

The woman walked over to the counter. Alex watched her go, then leaned over the table when she judged her wife was a sufficient distance away.

“How’s Astrid?” She said. “I need details.”

El almost opened her mouth to answer before an idea occurred to her. She bit her lip. “Cousin code,” she said instead.

Alex leveled a finger. “Don’t you give me that BS. I’m her mother. I need to know the sit-rep, and I need to know now. Kelly’s being way too cool about it.” She pounded the table. “Help. Me. Out.”

El smirked. “I’d be willing to break protocol,” she suggested, eyeing her aunt at the counter. “For a favor.”

Alex sat quickly back, crossing her arms. “No training,” she said. “Two weeks, and I meant it, and I will lengthen the time if you ask again.”

“Not that,” El insisted. “I had an idea for another test.”

That Alex objected to even further. “Absolutely not. Sparring is one thing, but that is permanently off the table after this whole mess.” She pointed at the eye in question.

“Nothing dangerous,” El replied. “Just one thing I wanted to look at.”

“You can find someone else,” Alex said. She eyed the teenager, predicting the line of argument she was likely to use next, and added, “I will tell your mothers.”

El bit her lip. “I promise it’s nothing bad,” she said and could see her aunt did not believe her. “I promise this will be the last time,” she added. “Just one thing, please, and I’ll never bring it up again.”

Alex looked her up and down. She glanced at her wife, still picking through toppings. She sighed.

“What is it?”

"Let the record state that I think this is a bad idea."

"You've said that twice already," El replied. "You want me to sign an NDA while you're at it?"

Her aunt fixed the girl with a serious stare. "Kind of, yeah."

El rolled her eyes. "The sooner we do it, the sooner it's done, and you can go back to judging my life choices."

Alex raised an eyebrow. "Back?" she queried. "We were under the impression that I'd stopped?"

El moaned between her teeth. "Just make with the box, please."

Director Danvers picked up the box in question. They were down in one of the safe labs in the heart of DEO HQ. The walls were lead-lined and the atmosphere on a closed system. The door was also bolted and hermetically sealed. The director, herself, was wearing biohazard gloves, and she’d made the teen exchange her street clothes for DEO-issued ones. In any other circumstances, this might have seemed beyond overkill as far as safety goes, but considering the contents of the box, and her niece standing across from her, Alex had been rather insistent.

El took a breath as Alex held the box in front of her. She nodded for the woman to go ahead, but she didn't move. El looked up at her aunt.

"Are you sure about this?" Alex asked.

"I am," said El.

"Really?" Alex added. "Because I'm not sure what you think this is going to prove."

"It'll prove we have something to go on," the girl replied, noting the raise of her aunt's eyebrow at the pronoun choice. "It'll prove my Kryptonian DNA isn’t completely overshadowed, at the very least."

"Okay," her aunt said. "I just want you to be prepared for what might happen."

"Shooting, burning pain. Jeju's told me," said El quickly. "It's a small sample, anyways."

"I meant you should be prepared for what might not happen."

El locked eyes with the woman, then glanced down at the box. She sighed. "Mom says a scientist should never be afraid of results, only assumptions."

Alex stared at her niece of a beat. "Okay," she finally admitted and put her hand on the lid. "Ready?"

El nodded. Alex clicked the latch button. The lid peeled back with a rubbery sound of the seal breaking. It opened, revealing a small, but bright, glowing, green crystal.

El stared. She'd seen pictures, videos, even one real sample, like this, behind a protective shield. But she'd never been in the same room as it.

Kryptonite. A shard of her Jeju's homeworld. Much like her, foreign to this planet, changed by its environment, by the yellow sun radiation. The only thing that could rend a Super vulnerable.

El stared at it. So small, so innocent looking. Almost pretty in a way. Her aunt's voice broke her from her thoughts.

"How do you feel?"

The teenager didn't answer. Not because she didn't know. She knew how she felt, how this little chunk of rock made her feel. She reached out a hand to the crystal.

"El!" Alex cried.

The girl picked it up.

No veins throbbing. No skin burning. No reaction at all. Just a tear rolling down the girl's cheek. She dropped the crystal back into the box. Alex latched it quickly before grabbing El's hand even as it was moving to wipe the tear away. The DEO chief grabbed a package from the table, tore it open, and pulled out an alcohol swab. She wiped El's arm down to the elbow, then tossed the swab into a biohazard bag.

"In case of particulates," she said.

The girl nodded silently. She felt her aunt place a hand on her shoulder.

"You okay, kiddo?"

"Yeah," the girl lied. She stared at nothing. Results. Nothing to be afraid of, but certainly devastated by. Her aunt brought her into a hug.

"You know you're still a kick ass, super genius, right?" the woman whispered to her. "And if your Mom is any indication, you'll continue to be drop-dead gorgeous for many years to come."

El nuzzled into the woman's shoulder a little harder. Alex patted her back lovingly.

"It's cliche," she added softly. "But we love you just the way you are. All of us." She leaned back, lifting the girl's chin to look her in the eyes. "You know that, don't you?"

El nodded with a sniffle.

"And, hey, good news," Alex said with a dry smile. "You are immune to kryptonite."

"But not immune to bullets, disease, and the elements," El couldn't help but reply.

"Welcome to the human race."

Alex sent her home shortly after. The DEO director had some business to attend to. There had been a string of attacks on aliens lately. El caught a bit of the chatter coming out of the Hub, but her mind was elsewhere.

There was something to be said to looking on the bright side. She had a loving family, which is way more than a lot of people got, she knew. She had people in her life who supported her, unconditionally. Mom had been right about the importance of that, and how she and Jeju, and everyone really, had fought to make sure she’d had it every day of her life. She had a good life.

But, sometimes, you couldn't help but look at what you didn't have. Envy was an ugly emotion, especially for someone with as much as privilege as she knew she had. Still, this felt different. It was a disappointment, so profound it made her feel like one. To herself and no one else.

True, she was immune to kryptonite, and yet it still hurt her. Worse than any exotic, alien radiation could. When she looked at that little glowing rock it told her exactly what she was. Utterly, hopelessly normal.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sometimes all you need is a mom, and a reminded how you got here.
> 
> (A short chapter cause the next one's going to be a bit long.)

When she got home, Mom was on the couch, her laptop perched on her knees, hair up in a bun. She smiled when her daughter stepped into the room.

"Hey, sweetie."

"Hey, Mom."

El took in the sight. Mom dressed down, alone. She turned to see the kitchen, untouched. Mom read her mind.

"Jeju called," the dark-haired woman said. "The DEO's looking into some recent incidents, and she's going to be working late."

"Yeah, Alex mentioned something about alien attacks."

Mom fixed her with a concerned glare. "You were at the DEO?"

El held up her hands. She turned her head to either side for inspection. "Not training, if that's what you were wondering." Not a lie. She motioned to the kitchen. "Dinner?"

"I ordered a pizza," Lena said with a smile.

El had to raise an eyebrow at that. Jeju was the fast-food mother. Mom regularly had to convince her to include vegetables as a necessary part of their diet.

"Really?" the girl asked.

The woman laughed. "If your Jeju's not here that means we actually get to eat the whole thing ourselves." You couldn't argue with her logic. Lena motioned El towards the couch. "Come on. I'm just finishing some stuff up. Keep me company."

El padded over and slumped down on the cushion beside her mother. She snuggled closely to the woman's arm, spying large blocks of code on the computer screen. The girl's eyes flitted over them.

"You reworking the L-Corp OS again?"

"Very astute," Mom replied. "Just some minor cosmetic fixes to my personal UI." She struck a few keys and the windows closed one-by-one.

"You don't have to stop," El objected.

"It's compiling," Lena replied as she closed the laptop and set it aside. She threw an arm around her daughter and cuddled her nearer. She ran a hand over her hair. "You okay?"

"What?" the girl asked.

"You just seem down is all."

Moms. Mind-readers, the lot of them. El shrugged.

"It was just a disappointing day."

"You want to talk about it?"

The girl shook her head. In reply, her Mom hugged her tighter, reaching with her free hand for the throw draped over the back of the couch to pull it around the both of them. El let the warmth of body and blanket seep into her. Life was very often disappointing, but right here rarely was.

"You want to watch TV?" Mom asked.

The girl shook her head again. She moved down to rest her head on her mother's chest. The woman angled to make it more comfortable for them. She stroked El's hair and hummed softly, the vibration radiating through her daughter.

"Mom?"

"Yeah, Ellie-baby?"

"When you and Jeju had me," she said, trying to put the words together right. "You put together my gene sequence, didn't you?"

"Yeah," Lena replied. "I mean we artificially fertilized my ovum with gametes from your Jeju. Of course, first, I had to harvest the gametes and extract the genetic material, which was a task in itself. Red sun radiation and titanium equipment, but we procured the material, inseminated the ovum, let it gestate for 5 days in the lab until it formed cavitation, then implanted the zygote in my womb." The woman leaned down to whisper in the girl's ear, a warm smile in her voice. "And that's where babies come from."

The girl huffed a laugh. El bit her lip as she settled against her mother's chest.

"How did you know..." She started then gulped. "How did you pick which of Jeju's genes to use?"

"I didn't," the woman answered immediately.

El turned to look up at her, questioningly.

"It was randomized," Lena continued. "I had the computer perform the selection and fertilization. We didn't even do a full karyotype until I was past 14 weeks, and then only to check for abnormalities across the hybrid chromosomes.”

Mom brushed the teen's hair out of her face.

"Any particular reason for this walk down memory lane?" she asked.

El worried her lip again. "Did you ever wonder if the computer picked wrong? Like you used the wrong genes?"

Lena gave her a curious look, that shifted to serious a moment later. "If this is your way of asking for a sibling, I'll go ahead and tell you, your Jeju and I both agreed we were fine with one, and, after 9 months of swollen ankles, morning sickness, and the weirdest food cravings, followed by 36 hours of labor, I am very content with that decision."

El buried her face in her mother's shirt. "Mom!"

"Thirty. Six. Hours, baby."

"That's not what I meant," the girl groaned. She lifted her head. "I meant, in all that, did you ever think you made a mistake?"

Green eyes stared down into her. The dark-haired woman shook her head solemnly. "Not even once," she whispered. "I hoped you were healthy, of course. Your Aunt Alex and I did so many tests to make sure you were developing right, but, no, sweetie. You are a miracle in every way, and I wouldn't change a hair on your head." She emphasized her point with a gentle stroke across the girl's scalp. "I mean, I wouldn't mind if it was a bit longer."

They quickly broke down into guffaws, punctuated by Mom's expert tickling skills. The pizza arrived soon after, and they ate far too much of it between the two of them as they settled back on the couch in a warm pile of arms, pillows, and blankets.

In the end, El decided normal didn't have to be a dirty word. Especially when this was her normal. It wasn't everything, and it didn't completely silence the little voice in her head that couldn't help but ask "what if?", but it was something. It was enough for now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Texts from cousin Jonathan and have you ever wondered how Kara would be with her own assistant?

"And here is National City's guardian herself, spotted grabbing a quick bite at one of the city's longest operating hot dog vendors before jetting off to foil a car chase, a pawn shop robbery, and guide Margaret Christman, an 85-year-old retiree, back to her assisted living facility after she wandered off. All in all, a regular morning for our Superwoman."

El thumbed through the CatCo Direct app on her phone as the bus rumbled through the streets of downtown. She scrolled to the photo provided with the audio-article. It showed Jeju hovering, her boots an inch off the ground. Golden curls framed her face, grinning in conversation with an elderly man behind a hot dog cart, who, no doubt, would see a boom in his business after this.

El had seen older pictures, from when her mother had first started out. The skirt had been cute if a little impractical. The pants were much sleeker and worked better with the new suit she had been sporting, with the House of El logo smaller over her heart rather than spread out across her chest.

El had never known her as Supergirl. The new name had came shortly after she had been born. At a certain point, 'girl' stopped being a harmless moniker and, what with her being a mother now, not a little condescending. To the rest of the world, it had been sold as a personal choice, a sign the hero was maturing and coming into her own. CatCo had done a months-long series on "The Rebranding" as they coined it. It had been a little comical, Jeju posing for pictures and being interviewed multiple times, by herself.

Superwoman suited her, or so El thought, and she considered herself a bit of an expert on the hero. She scrolled further and the audio kicked back in.

"CatCo reached out to Superwoman for comment on the recent spate of incidents involving alien citizens, but the hero had nothing to add at present. In other SuperWatch news, Metropolis' own golden boy has been making a name for himself. Today it was 'friend of animals'. Here's Superboy helping a truck full of thoroughbreds make their debut at the county fair."

El scrolled to catch a shot of her cousin, smile beaming on his face, hoisting a livestock trailer over his head. She snorted. Some people had all the luck. She captured the image and swiped over to her message app.

_ME: The spit curl could use some work._

She pasted the photo and sent it off. A minute later, her phone dinged.

_J-Man: Please, I look good._

_ME: You must also reek. Seriously, you were underneath the trailer. How many times did your mom have to wash the suit to get the smell of horse manure out of it?_

_J-Man: I'm sorry I can't hear you up here in the stratosphere._

El's mouth dropped open. "Jerk!" she shouted, to her startled, fellow bus passengers. She quickly texted back.

_ME:_ 💩💩💩 _#HouseofsmEL_

She stared at the screen for a minute, particularly proud of the burn. Three dots appeared next to Jonathan’s avatar.

_J-Man: Crap, Dad saw my phone and is making me apologize._

She smirked. Served him right. She waited. She waited. She typed.

_ME: You can start on that any time now._

_J-Man: Sorry._ 😥 _  
_

He added a selfie of him pretending to cry, clearly taken from 30,000 feet. Uncle Kal was visible in the background, arms crossed.

_ME: Yeah, that pic is not helping your case._

A string of heart emojis followed.

_J-Man:_ 💛💙❤️ _Friends?_

She hit the space bar and let her own three dots rotate for a bit.

_ME: Worse. Family._

_J-Man: Stronger Together._

_ME: Certainly stronger smelling._

_J-Man: Okay, now you've got Dad making jokes about it. Enjoy your revenge._

El smirked.

_ME: It is sweet. I can assure you._

The girl tucked her phone away as the bus came to a stop. She swung out and plopped onto the sidewalk in front of CatCo Worldwide. She stepped inside the building.

"Hi, Amir," she called as she strode past the security desk.

"Afternoon, Ms. Danvers-Luthor," the man replied as he buzzed her through the turnstile.

"How're the kids?" El asked with a grin, spinning to walk backwards.

"Non-existent as always," the man laughed. "Thanks for asking." He waved as she spun again, marching past two separate banks of elevators before turning down a side hall where a sleek, chrome lift door sat at the end. She punched the button, and the doors parted immediately. There were perks to being related to the Editor-in-Chief. Private elevators were one of them.

The ride up was swift and smooth. The doors parted on the top floor, and El stepped out, only to be greeted suddenly by the face of a very exasperated woman in her 20's.

"You..." she stuttered, staring at the girl. "You can't be on that. That's Ms. Danvers personal, private elevator. Only she's allowed to use it!"

El stared back for a moment. Then she smiled. "You must be new."

The woman opened her mouth, no doubt to reiterate her complete disbelief at the teen's audacity, when a phone rang. She practically leapt towards the assistant's desk situated in front of the all-glass office of the editor-in-chief of CatCo Magazine.

"Ms. Danvers' office," the woman said.

El crossed around to the front of the desk. The little name plate read "Chloe Martin - Personal Assistant."

"No, I'm sorry, she's on a conference call right," Chloe said into the receiver. "I will have her call you back."

El turned to the office where she could see Jeju standing, slacks and pastels, facing the many screens on the wall above her desk, the center one of which sported a familiar face. The girl thought, for a second, about just walking in but, considering the recent encounter, Chloe might have a conniption if she did.

"Yes, I'll make sure she knows. Thank you," the woman said before setting the receiver in the cradle and breathing, possibly for the first time in 5 minutes. She looked up at the teenager and tried to compose herself professionally. "I'll have to ask you to refrain from using the private elevator," she said, indicating the device just behind her. "It's for Ms. Danvers' exclusive use only."

"Uh-huh," El intoned. "So, you're the new assistant. Chloe, is it?"

Chloe stiffened slightly. It almost seemed, for a moment, as if she was trying to not admit that, as if it was too much information to trust to the young interloper who had just waltzed off the editor-in-chief's private elevator, despite the fact that she was sitting at the assistant's desk, answering the assistant's phone, and that was most certainly her name next to "Personal Assistant" on the desk plate.

"How can I help you?" she said instead.

El pointed to the office. "I'm here to see her."

"Well, you can't. She's in a very important conference call right now. Can I take a message?" A small vein was throbbing in the woman's neck.

"I'm just going to go in," El replied.

"No, you can't!" the woman said.

"It's really okay. I promise."

"No!" the woman insisted, even leaping up from behind the desk to block the teenager from the door. "Ms. Danvers cannot be interrupted right now."

"I know she'll make an exception for me," El said and stepped to the door.

The woman's hand slammed against the glass. "Please," she said, desperately. "I really need this job, and I am trying so hard to make her happy."

El laid a hand on the woman's shoulder. She was practically vibrating.

"You're doing great, I'm sure," the girl assured her. "I promise you won't get in trouble by letting me in."

"Please, I just started," Chloe nearly wept. "It's my second day, and I already got her coffee order wrong. I swear I wrote it down, but I must have misheard, because no one could ask for that many sugars in her americano, could they? I didn't notice until I got back from the coffee shop, and, granted, she drank it anyway and even made a point of saying how good it tasted, so obviously she's furious because she told me to get the exact same thing tomorrow, and I can't mess up again."

El patted the poor woman. "It's going be okay, Chloe."

The phone on the desk suddenly rang, causing Chloe to leap towards it. El took the opportunity to open the office door and slide smoothly inside. She caught Chloe's tragic cry of "Wait!" that was immediately cut off by a practiced "Ms. Danvers' office, how can I help you?"

"-were some minor incidents, mostly unverified," the figure on the screen spoke. El settled herself on one of the office couches and thumbed through a magazine on the nearby table.

"Well, anything you have could be helpful," Jeju replied. "It'd be nice to track down when these started, especially if they stretch all the way to Metropolis."

"I'll send you what I've got," the bald, black man replied. "Any particular reason the DEO couldn't get this themselves?

"They are," said Kara. "Alex is pulling from the criminal database, but I told my people I'd get hard sources for the magazine, and, unfortunately, I can't claim you-know-who for everything."

"Unfortunately," the man said with a smile. "I'll get it to you, by the end of the day."

"Thanks, James."

"What are friends for?"

"How else are things in the Big M?"

"About the same," James Olsen replied. "I'd go into detail, but I see you have a visitor."

"Hi, Uncle James," El called from the couch.

"How's it going, short-stuff?"

"Same old same old, tall-stuff.”

Jeju chuckled. "I'll let you go."

"Talk soon," the man said.

"Bye, Uncle James," El added before the line cut out. The TV screen switched back to it's constant scroll of news outlets.

"Hey, little one," Jeju said as she turned on her heels and dropped lightly onto the couch to give her daughter a peck on the cheek. "How was school?"

"Fine," the girl replied, tossing the magazine back on the table. She nodded towards the monitors. "What was that about?"

"Oh, we're looking into those alien incidents the DEO's been tracking," the blonde woman replied. "Turns out they're similar to some crimes that happened in Metropolis a few months back. I'm using your Uncle Jimmy as a source."

"How's the Daily Planet these days?"

"Apparently, a completely different beast now that your Aunt Lois finally retired," Kara chuckled. "James is still trying to figure out how to fill the vacuum."

"Lois did project a bit of an aura," El commented. "Speaking of which." She nodded towards the glass wall of Jeju's office, beyond which a very nervous Chloe was attempting to take notes on a call, while occasionally throwing worried looks towards the couch. "I met your new assistant."

Kara's face fell.

"She seems a bit... High-strung," the girl offered.

"I know," Jeju groaned. "I swear, I've been so nice to her. I made a binder with all the things she needed to know to start her first day, but it seems she took that to mean I'm some sort of taskmaster who demands perfection." The woman sighed. "I complimented her on how she got my coffee order from Noonan's exactly right, and she burst into tears."

El shook her head. "You and assistants."

"Yes, well, apparently someone in HR made the mistake of telling her that the average lifespan of PA's with me is about 3 months."

"Did they mention that's because you keep promoting them?"

“No!"

Chloe finished up the call, dropping the pen to her memo pad with urgency. She swung around the desk and pushed into the office quickly.

“Ms. Danvers, I am so sorry,” the assistant said immediately. “She just walked right in after using your private elevator. I tried to stop her, but she is very fast, and I swear it will never happen again. I-“

Kara held up her hands. “Chloe. Chloe. Chloe! It’s okay.”

The woman calmed, marginally. She was still on the edge of hyperventilation. 

Kara motioned to El. “Chloe, this is my daughter, El Danvers-Luthor.”

“Hi,” said the teen.

The poor woman’s eyes went wide, her face pale. “I am so sorry, Ms. Danvers. I didn’t know! You said you shouldn’t be interrupted unless it was an emergency, and I promise I’ll add your daughter dropping by to the list of emergencies, right below ‘building burning down.’”

“Chloe-“ Kara interjected.

“Above it!” The woman replied.

“Chloe, it’s fine, I promise,” the blonde woman tried calmly. Not that it had much affect. “Did I have any messages?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am,” the assistant replied, darting back to grab her memo pad and returning before the door had time to fully close. “The art department called. They have the final proofs for your approval on next month’s cover, and Ms. Chase from marketing wanted your opinion on a new ad push.”

“Thank you, Chloe,” replied Jeju. “Tell Chase I’ll talk to her tomorrow, and forward the proofs to my personal account. I’ll give them the once-over tonight.”

“Of course, Ms. Danvers,” said Chloe before rushing back to her desk.

El looked up at her Jeju. 

“Oh, Rao,” the woman said, utterly mortified at the interaction. “She thinks I’m Cat, doesn’t she?”

“Yeah,” El intoned.

Kara groaned and let her head fall against the back of the couch. “I try so hard,” she moaned. “You know me, little one. I am a very nice person. I bought cupcakes for the entire floor last week, but it’s this job. You get branded Cat Grant’s protege, and suddenly everyone thinks you’re out for their heads. I mean, I’ve always admired Ms. Grant’s determination and self-assurance, but, come on, I’m sweet.”

“Well,” El offered, throwing a thumb in Chloe’s direction. “Next time you buy cupcakes for everyone, maybe lace hers with Xanax.”

Jeju looked like this might not be a bad idea. She stepped over to her desk and started gathering things up. “I was going to grab something on the way home for you. How’s Chinese sound?”

El looked up questioningly. “Take-out? I thought you were making dinner.”

“Yeah, I can’t,” Jeje apologized. “Alex needs my help with this whole alien thing, and, with your Mom Skyping into Singapore, you’re going to be on your own tonight.”

“Why don’t you just take me to the DEO?” Asked the teen. 

Jeju looked back like she did not think that was the best idea.

“Come on,” El added. “You take me there all the time.”

“Not during a crisis.”

“Almost exclusively during crises.”

Kara looked unimpressed, but she couldn’t fight the facts.

“And what happened to making sure you or Mom was always home with me in the evenings?” The teen quickly threw in.

Her Jeju’s face soured. “Okay, that’s emotional manipulation.”

El stuck out her lower lip and watched her Jeju’s eyes water. “Is it working?”

Before her Jeju could fold like a house of cards, the glass door opened again as Chloe stepped sheepishly through.

“Ms. Danvers, I’ve uploaded those proofs like you asked,” the assistant said. “Can I get you anything? Tea, water, cocoa?” The last bit was aimed pointedly at El. Never too early, or late, to suck up to the boss’s kid.

“No, I think that’ll do it, Chloe,” Kara answered evenly. “Why don't you compile those minutes from this morning’s department head meeting. You can put it on my desk when you’re done. I’m actually heading out.”

“Oh, of course, Ms. Danvers, I’ll call your car,” Chloe said.

“Great,” Jeju responded. She smiled. “When you’re done, why don’t you take the rest of the afternoon off? I won’t be needing you anymore.”

The assistant’s face went pale again. She really did burst into tears this time.

“Okay, Ms. Danvers,” she sobbed. She turned and padded sadly back to her desk.

Kara stared out the glass at her. “I might have to promote her immediately just so she isn’t further traumatized.” She waved vaguely at the woman. “Honestly, what am I doing wrong?”

“Well, for starters,” El pointed out. “She thinks you just fired her.”

Kara looked aghast. She turned her head rapidly, worked through the last few minutes of conversation. Her eyes went wide.

“Chloe!” She yelled as she rushed the door. “Chloe! Wait! Don’t clean out your desk, please!”


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Action time at the DEO. We finally get a look at these alien attacks everyone has been talking about.

“Hey, Neil,” El said as she strode into the lobby of DEO HQ.

“Evening, Ms. Danvers-Luthor,” the man at the desk replied, passing her a visitor’s tag.

The teen followed her mother past the security check point, both of them waving their badges through and riding the secure lift up to the Hub. Activity was at a peak. Agents moved back and forth from the banks of computers to the central dais where a holographic map of the city floated an inch off the table, while the vast, wall-sized monitor displayed various statistical breakdowns. In front of it stood the stolid figure of Director Danvers. A technician handed her a tablet before nodding and moving on to the next duty. The woman turned and spied the two women.

“Kara,” she said. “We’ve pulled FBI data and are collating it now. Did James have anything to add?”

“Just what we’ve already heard,” the blonde replied. “Random attacks, at least from what the Metro PD could tell, all alien victims, but no connection that they could find other than that.”

“All right,” Alex said with a nod. “Get changed. We’ll have you patrol tonight. That still seems like our best bet to try and catch this. Hey there, kiddo.” The last was tacked along with the rest in almost the same tone of voice. Alex had a hard-set business mode, but she knew how to multitask.

“Hey, Alex,” came El’s reply.

“You want me to watch her?” Her aunt asked, turning back to Kara.

“If you don’t mind,” said Jeju.

“Do I ever?”

Kara smiled then turned and kissed her daughter’s temple. “I’ll be on coms if you need me.”

“Sure, Jeju,” the girl added. 

Her mother stepped off towards the locker rooms. Alex fiddled with her tablet.

“So, how’d you con your way into this?” She asked without looking up.

“I’ll have you know I asked nicely.”

The older woman smirked. “Grab a seat. Everyone’s busy, though, so you know the rules.”

El nodded. “Don’t get in anyone’s way unless I have a brilliant idea to save the day.”

Alex chuckled dryly before turning back to the display. El, meanwhile, found a seat at an unoccupied terminal. Several agents gave her a nod before returning to their work. The teen was something of a fixture, despite her parents’ insistence that they didn’t bring her here that often. She spun her chair for a minute before kicking off the desk and rolling over to another computer station where a white and blue individual sat with his hands flying rapidly over the keys of at least 3 different keyboards.

“Hey, Brains.”

“Greetings, offspring of Lena and Kara.” Querl had been on Earth long enough to develop at least a passible grasp of a normal-sounding lexicon, but he did have a sense of humor.

“Working hard?”

“Hardly working,” the Coluan replied. “I am currently coordinating communications for a dozen separate DEO units, including Superwoman’s, while also collating data from the FBI criminal database. It is not taxing in the slightest.” He turned and gave her a pale smile.

“So, you can talk?”

“Indeed. It would require a significantly higher computational burden to render me speechless.”

El had to laugh.

“I have been informed by several individuals that you have selected the institution at which you will pursue higher learning. I am told this is a significant event.”

El nodded.

“Then may I offer my congratulations in the manner most commonly used in these circumstances.” He raised a fist and punched the air slightly. “Go team.”

El had to laugh again. “Thanks, Brains.” She eyed the biological computer. “I guess it works a little different on Colu.”

“Yes,” Brainy replied. “Being synthetic and partially cybernetic, Coluans do not have to ‘attend school’ as many other lifeforms do. Knowledge not gained via direct download is absorbed at a much higher rate.”

“So where did you graduate from then?”

“Bio-incubation unit 5,” he replied, glancing over his shoulder at the teen. “Top of my class.”

They shared the laugh this time.

“So, these alien attacks?” The girl probed. It wasn’t her first crisis. She’d developed a bit of a procedure. Small talk then big talk.

“Quite fascinating,” Brainy replied. “However, ‘alien attacks’ is, perhaps, inept a descriptor. It would be better to say there have been attacks on aliens. We are still trying to ascertain the culprit or cause.”

“But you think they’re all related?” The girl said. “Not just because they’ve all been aliens.”

Brainy nodded. “All the victims have that in common, but, more so, the attacks themselves have followed a similar process. The victims are followed by an individual who then corners and assaults them before moving on. The individual has not been identified, but what scant data we have would suggest it is the same individual.”

“Operating alone?”

“So it would seem.”

El nodded along as he talked, working the problem in her own head. She’d gotten bits and pieces from the last few days, off the web and what she tended to overhear from her family. The Metropolis angle was new. Alien-human relations had become better in the 20 or so years since the Amnesty Act. Still, peace was a slow process, and there were always those who couldn’t seem to set hate aside. Attacks on aliens weren’t uncommon. There were even organized groups that popped up now and then. But one man, working from one city to the next, from Metropolis all the way to National City no less, that was something else.

“You got any information on the victims?”

You could always count on Brainy to be cooperative. Her parents, and most of her extended family, had learned long ago that denying El access to information, outright, was an RSVP for her to go and find it herself. The added benefit of parents that were so devotedly honest with you about the world is that you didn’t have to wonder about what you didn’t know. Ask and you’d be told or, at the very least, given a very good direction to look towards, even if the person was insistent that they were ‘not helping you. Can’t stress that enough. If your Mom finds out I will deny it.’

El picked up a DEO tablet and began rolling through the victims’ data that Brainy had so gracious downloaded for her. There had been some 2 dozen attacks. A bit more if you counted similar instances in Metropolis. The data seemed to suggest an increase in frequency, but there was no other correlation. The victims were all alien, but no commonalities in species had presented itself, as of yet. It could be random attacks, of course. That wasn’t outside the realm of possibility. Still, the nature of the attacks, the process Brainy had mentioned, suggested the attacker was picking his targets somehow. Maybe they all went to the same bar, shopped at the same store, that sort of thing.

El accessed the DEO mainframe and cross-referenced victim information with a map of the city. Not an original idea, and, no doubt, someone had already tried it, but sometimes you need to see things for yourself. Random. No commonalities in residence or neighborhood. She went back to the victims themselves.

Bodgardian. Klaramarians. Aquarian. There were some repeats, but no preferred target. She cross-referenced further into their bios. No age, gender, job commonalities. She finally pulled up a list of the victims alphabetically. Well, that was something.

“Brains?” She asked.

The Coluan made a subtle head tilt signaling he was listening, though his eyes flitted between the screens in front of him. El held up the tablet.

“This is interesting,” the girl said. “Look at the first names of all the victims.”

Brainy didn’t turn his head. “No familial or racial commonalities have presented themselves in the victims.”

“No, I mean the names themselves,” El replied. “They’re all Earth names.”

Brainy continued to look at his screens, however a hand skimmed over a set of keys, and a sub-window appeared displaying the same list El was looking at. “Fascinating,” he said. “You believe this is significant?”

“It’s interesting,” said El. “Not sure it means anything, but I don’t see any extraterrestrial names or even alternate spellings. Last names, yes, but not the first names. There’s John and Susan and Sun-Yee. You’d expect at least Querl in there.”

Brainy raised an eyebrow, which El smiled at. High praise from the Coluan. “Interesting,” he said. “This warrants further research.”

El pumped her fist. _Leave me at home, will you?_ It was nice to be useful. “Excellent,” she added. “I’ll tell Alex.”

“Perhaps you should wait,” Brainy said, tapping quickly at his station. “Director Danvers. Superwoman is on the line.” He tapped out another command and a comm window appeared on the big monitor. 

Alex turned from the center table and tapped her earpiece.“Kara, what have you got?”

“Disturbance in the financial district,” Jeju’s voice came over the comm’s “From the sound of it, it may be our guy.”

Alex tapped at her tablet. “I have a team en route. Any witnesses?”

“There’s a crowd, but I only just got here.” El heard the telltale sign of her mother landing. There was a distant murmuring, punctuated by Jeju’s voice. “Excuse me. Pardon me. Coming through.” There was a pause. Some voices in the background.

“Team is a block away,” Director Danvers cut in. “Brainy, get ready for visuals.”

Brainy nodded at his station. El stared at the monitor.

“Anything, Kara?” Alex asked.

There was another pause. Significant this time.

“Kara?” Alex asked, a tinge of concern in her voice.

“Is El still there?” Kara finally responded.

Alex’s head snapped to the girl’s, both surprised at the request. “Yes, she is,” the teen’s aunt replied.

“Call a car and send her home, would you?” Came Jeju’s voice.

El’s eyebrows went up. “But Mom won’t be home for another hour,” she said.

“Don’t argue, please, little one.”

Alex turned back to the screen. “Kara, what’s happening?”

“This one didn’t make it,” she replied. “Please send El home.”

The girl opened her mouth to protest but caught her aunt’s gaze and saw there wasn’t nothing she could say. El bit her lip but gathered her things.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of the latest alien attack, we finally learn something about our attacker, and something about El.

Mom did, indeed, not get home for another hour, but she had already spoke with Kara as she mentioned she said she would be working late and to not wait up. Mom also would not answer El’s question about what had happened with the latest victim.

The next morning, though, El found them both at the breakfast table. They were quiet, but the teen knew enough to know they had likely just stopped talking the moment she came up the stairs. You couldn’t step quiet enough for super hearing. El sat down and ate her breakfast. She was halfway through when she decided to press the issue.

“So what happened with the latest victim?”

Sometimes point-blank was the best option. Her mothers exchanged glances, then said nothing. El shrugged.

“You know I’m going to find out anyhow,” she added. “I have my ways.”

Jeju sighed. “It looks like they may have fought back against their attacker, who was significantly stronger than them.” She spun her coffee mug slowly. “It wasn’t pretty.”

El forked her eggs about a bit more. There were reasons her parents did things. She understood that, but you can’t discount her for being curious, especially considering the people who raised her.

“Did Brainy tell you about what I noticed the victims have in common?”

Mom raised an eyebrow at that. Not surprised but still not pleased that El had gotten anywhere near the investigation. 

“All the victims have human names,” El added. “Earth first names, at least.” She looked between the two women. The information didn’t seem to have made much of an impact. “Querl thought it might be significant.”

Kara sipped her coffee. “The latest’s name was Vaxildak,” was all she said.

El deflated slightly. Okay, that was a little disappointing, but a good scientist doesn’t fear results. “Well, that’s still a trend,” she countered. “Whoever is behind this isn’t hunting by names, but isn’t it interesting that they all have that in common? Or most of them, at least?”

Mom finally nodded. “It’s certainly something,” she said with a small smile. “Good detective skills.”

Jeju agreed. “I’ll ask Brainy about it later. You should get ready for school.”

CatCo Direct had a short blurb about last night’s attack. No pictures. El wondered, for a moment, if that was Jeju’s doing and figured she was probably right.

The uptick in ferocity meant Jeju was out most nights now, scouring the city. It had been a while since something this serious had hit. El was starting to miss having both of her mother’s home in the evenings. Mom was good about filling the time, making sure the girl didn’t feel her Jeju’s absence as much, but she still felt it, and, when she snuggled against Mom on the couch and felt that sigh deep out of her chest, she knew the woman felt it, too.

All the more reason for the DEO to crack this quickly, which, logically, should mean using all the resources at their disposal. And, equally logically, that should include a certain polyglot, super genius, shouldn’t it?

So it made total sense why El Danvers-Luthor should access the DEO mainframe via the secure remote portal that she definitely was not supposed to still have a login for after the last time they found out, didn’t it?

El worked through the data on her tablet as the bus hummed quietly around her. Work, home, even club affiliations, no connection between any of the victims. Just a bunch of aliens, most of whom had human first names. In science, that was called secondary evidence. A sign that there was a commonality. They just couldn’t see it yet. 

El flipped back to the list of names. Previously, the assaulter had left their victims alive, if shaken. He had his face covered and his dress was inconsistent, so all they had was a vague description. As far as they knew, he hadn’t even spoken a work. All he tended to do was tail his target, corner them, and rough them up before suddenly departing. This latest had, apparently, been an unfortunate escalation. They punched back and learned their pursuer had, apparently, been holding back this whole time.

El scrolled to the last name on the list. Vaxildak. An Orbarian from out past Albireo. Apparently, it was pretty nice there, or had been, once. Just another alien refugee trying to find a home on Earth. Only to die in an alley. What a sad end for Vaxildak-

Her eyes stopped.

Smythe.

Vaxildak Smythe. Non-human first name. Human last name.

Now, that was interesting. Apparently this one didn’t not fully buck the trend. But what did it mean? Names. Why names? The attacker couldn’t be hunting by name. Even an internet search wouldn’t necessarily provide you a list of potential victims. Especially if the names sounded human.

_Sounded human_ , she repeated to herself. They weren’t, of course. Nothing wrong with that. But why pick a name that sounds human? Like Sun-Yee or Smythe? But she knew the answer to that. It was the same reason Uncle Kal went by Clark. And her godfather from Mars tended to be called John Jones even though that wasn’t how you actually pronounced his name.

El cross-referenced the list again, this time for a specific information type. It should be easy to prove, especially if she was right. And she was right.

El punched the air and hopped off the bus at the next stop instead of continuing on home. She pounded down the block, rounding the corner and rushing into the entrance of the next building.

“Hey, Neil,” she breathlessly called out, grabbing her visitor’s tag and rushing off before the man could fully greet her.

A few minutes later, the teen ran into the Hub and slammed her palms excitedly against the central table. “They were born here!” She exclaimed.

The DEO staff turned at her entrance. El spun to them in delight, landing at last on her Aunt, standing nearby, who returned a serious expression.

“The victims,” El repeated to the Director. “They were born here. That’s why they have human names. They’re all second generation aliens. They were trying to integrate!”

She stared at her Aunt, who only stared back. El was about to ask why she wasn’t more excited when a voice caught her from behind.

“What are you doing here, young lady?”

El spun immediately to see Mom standing behind her. Mom and Jeju right next to her. The girl sputtered for a moment.

“You are supposed to be at home,” the dark-haired woman intoned, her face ever the picture of parental disappointment.

El’s eyes darted around. It was one thing to be caught where you weren’t supposed to be, but, if she remembered correctly, yes, she had just burst into the room of this government facility and pretty much admitted she had been accessing classified data without permission. She looked for an out.

“So are you,” she decided on. It did not work.

Mom tapped a foot. “I was just about to call and tell you I would be late,” she replied.

The teen looked warily around the room, where the majority of these highly-trained individuals had suddenly found something else to work on. The wrath of Lena Luthor, especially where her daughter was concerned, was not something they were unaware of. El turned back to Alex, who had that same serious look.

“Okay,” the girl finally admitted. “I’m sorry.” She held up her tablet, though. “But I figured it out. This is a breakthrough.” She looked between the three authority figures currently glaring at her. “Why aren’t we more excited?”

She felt Alex’s hand land on her shoulder. “Believe it or not. We already knew that, kiddo,” she said, looking suddenly past El to her parents. Jeju nodded back. 

“You did?” El asked curiously, un-noticing the worried glance her parents just exchanged.

“Yeah,” Alex confirmed. She patted the girl’s shoulder. “Good solve, though.”

“So, the question becomes, what does that mean?” El soldiered on. In for a penny, in for a pound. “Obviously he’s not tracking these people by demographic records, but what if he knows they were born on Earth? Like he can sense it? Maybe something about the planet’s gravity or magnetic field leaves a signature?” The teen looked excitedly around again.

After a long moment, Alex chuckled dryly, looking towards Mom. “She’s your daughter, all right?”

The girl, once again, did not notice her mothers’ worried expressions. “I’m right, aren’t I?”

Alex looked to El’s parents. Mom stepped forward. “Why don’t we go home, sweetie, and let your Jeju and Alex work?”

“Oh, come on,” El protested. “We’re on a roll, and don’t act like I didn’t help. The names thing was all me.”

Mom looked back at Jeju, who sighed then stepped forward and ran a hand up her back. “Go ahead and tell her, Alex,” she said.

El turned to her Aunt who pulled out a DEO tablet. “You’re close,” she said and pulled up data. The monitor shifted to show profiles of several of the victims, rotating through them. “Once we figured out all the victims were born on Earth, we naturally had to wonder what about them the attacker was honing in on. Querl ended up figuring it out.”

The data shifted, adding new faces. El read quickly through the names and realized the commonality was the victim’s parents names. She grinned when she saw it.

“They’re hybrids!” She exclaimed. “All the victims, they’re half-human.”

Not a new thing for Earth, which, it had been learning, had been hosting aliens in one form or another for half-a-century at least. It was certainly becoming more common, especially after the Amnesty Act. Just another sign of the progress National City was the leader on.

The girl’s mind turned with the new data. “He could have checked birth records, but, no, he must be tracking them," she said, thinking out loud. "Maybe a portable genetic sampling device. Oh, what if it’s innate? What if he can detect them naturally?” She spun again to the faces in the room. They all turned back worried looks to her. She let her arms drop in disappointment. “Look, I know I wasn’t supposed to look into it, but, come on, this is important.” She threw an arm in her Mom’s direction. “You called Mom in to consult. Why not me?”

“They didn’t call me to consult, Ellie,” her Mom replied. 

El turned to see tears rimming her eyes. “Then… Why?” She asked, starting, at last, to notice everyone’s deeply concerned expressions. She looked to Alex, Mom, at last Jeju, who wrapped an arm around her wife’s shoulder.

“We called your Mom here to talk about you,” she said.

The girl’s brow furrowed. So they figured out she was using the DEO backdoor again. That was obvious. She would certainly get a talking-to later, but that hardly seemed a reason to call Mom into the DEO. Hardly a reason to make everyone so worried. It wasn’t like it was the first time.

“What about me?” El had to ask.

Jeju gulped. “This attacker,” she said. “He’s hunting hybrids.”

“Yeah?” The girl said.

“El, you’re a hybrid.”


	10. Chapter 10

It wasn’t fair. That’s what the girl had decided. It wasn’t fair.

Sure, she had Kryptonian DNA, but she’d already proved, to her utter disappointment, that it really didn’t mean anything for her. No powers. No abilities. Not even the normal Kryptonian weaknesses. And yet it seemed that was still enough to make her a target.

It wasn’t fair.

There wasn’t any reason to think this guy was coming after her, specifically, of course. Despite the connection, the attacks still appeared to be random, nothing more than chance indicating why the attacker went after one before another. Still, knowing he was out there and, apparently, had the ability to identify hybrids on sight, was enough for her parents to consider relatively drastic steps.

So, El was effectively on house arrest. 

Okay, that was an exaggeration. She still went to school, but every hour not spent there was either spent at home or the DEO, wherever at least one of her mothers could be at the time. Granted, she’d already spent a lot of time at the DEO, even when she wasn’t supposed to, but not having the choice somehow made it worse.

And that was how the teen found herself once again in the DEO’s Hub. This time, bored out of her mind. Homework had long been finished, and she couldn’t go home for another hour or so. Mom’s board meeting had gone long. So El leaned back in her chair and counted rivets in the ceiling. 

At last, she kicked off a nearby console and rolled over to Querl’s desk. The Coluan made no movement to acknowledge her presence, but she knew him enough to know he knew she was there.

“Anything?” She asked.

“Are you aware that is the 11th instance of you asking me that question within the last 75 minutes?” Brainy replied.

“Brains,” the girl only added. “I’m losing it.”

“I do believe your psyche can withstand a few hours confinement.”

El groaned. “I just want something to do. Please?”

“I have been instructed to not allow you to access DEO materials, especially those connected with the active case.”

“Then don’t,” El said and spun her chair to face him. “Just listen while I brainstorm, all right?”

Querl raised a wary eyebrow in her direction.

“Okay, so this guy, whoever, whatever he is, knows how to find hybrids, right?”

“Correct.”

“And he can pick them out of a crowd, I don’t know, by smell or something?”

“An olfactory vector would not be out of the realm of possibility.”

El nodded. “All right, but, barring one incident so far, he hasn’t done anything to anyone except harass them. He roughs them up, then leaves. Why do that?”

“Perhaps he is merely attempting to send a message against interspecies breeding,” Querl suggested. “Or he fears reprisal if he continues any one assault for too long. Superwoman’s response times have been decreasing since the beginning of the spree.”

“If that were the case, then why come to National City at all?” Countered the girl. “He started in Metropolis, right? So he flees one city protected by a Super and winds up in the only other one?”

“National City does possess the highest alien population per capita in the nation. If he is motivated by prejudice, this would be the logical place to exact it.”

“True, but what is he exacting… exactly?” El suggested. “What’s the agenda?”

“A fitting question,” and here Brains actually looked at her. “I assume you wish to venture a guess.”

Her lips curled. “What if he’s looking for someone? A specific hybrid? That’s why he keeps up with the catch and release. He can sense someone’s genetic makeup but has to get close to find out what precisely they are, only no one has been the one he’s searching for.”

“You are suggesting our assailant is seeking a particular individual?”

“Or a certain kind of hybrid.” El scooted closer. “Think about it.” That garnered a half-annoyed eyebrow wrinkly from the living computer. “Sorry, but it must be something in particular he’s looking for.”

“He simply has not found it yet,” Brainy responded. He nodded. “Yes, a logical supposition.” He glanced back at the girl. “How would you suggest we proceed?”

“I don’t know,” El admitted with a shrug. “I was just thinking. We don’t even know what he’s going to do when he finds who he’s looking for.”

“True, but assuming he is searching for a specified hybrid may indicate why he is searching among certain alien populations.” Querl returned to his screens without another word. El watched him work for a minute before it finally occurred to her.

“You already figured that out, didn’t you?”

“Yes,” Brainy replied. “Approximately 14 seconds after you began talking.” He tapped a key and a list of species appeared on one of his screens.

El huffed. “Told you I was useful.”

“That has never been in doubt, Spawn of Kara and Lena.” Brainy smiled at her. His face softened. “I am confident we will find the perpetuator soon. Superwoman seems quite dedicated to the task.”

“Yeah,” El said quietly. “Yeah,” she repeated as she spun her chair. After a minute, she dropped a foot to the floor to stop herself. She popped up out of the chair. “I think I’m going to go for a walk.”

Brainy suddenly turned to open his mouth. 

“I won’t leave the building,” she quickly added before striding off.

It wasn’t fair. Not just being cooped up, but being cooped up and not being able to do a thing about it. And, no, it wasn’t that they weren’t letting her on the DEO mainframe. It was that same voice that had been whispering in her ear for years, the tantalizing draw of ‘what if?’

Brains was right. Jeju would find this guy. Superwoman’d bring him in, and that’d be the end of it. But why did she have to do it alone?

Maybe it hadn’t been a fluke the assailant had left Metropolis and come here. After all, Metropolis had 2 Supers. National City only had the one.

El wandered around the main corridors of the facility for some time until she found herself on an observation deck in one of the upper floors. The city twinkled in front of her; the chilly, night air nipping at her cheeks. She stared out and wandered where Jeju was right now, where the other guy was. She neared the edge and leaned over the railing to stare down at the street below. Cars and people went to and fro some 30 stories down.

A thought occurred to her. A thing they had never tested. For good reason. Yet she couldn’t, in this moment, shake the desire to test this one last thing, to know. Then again, she could just go on hoping. If she never knew, she could always dream.

But she wasn’t supposed to be afraid of results. She also wasn’t supposed to be stupid, of course. Still, she couldn’t help but lean over the railing just a little too far, coming up on her toes. She held this position and tried to feel if she could feel anything. 

No floating, only the certain reminder of gravity. If she moved just a bit more, she just might-

Her phone rang. She dropped back to her feet and fumbled for it before she answered without looking at the caller ID.

“Hello?”

“I don’t know what you were doing, but it had better not be what I think it was,” the voice of her Aunt cut through.

El bit her lip. She spun, looked about, then found the camera mounted by the door. “Were you spying on me?” She hissed.

“The visitor ID’s have an RF tag,” Alex replied matter-of-factly. “I punch in your name and automatically know where you are in the building. Let’s get back to the matter at hand.” She was mad, furious, possibly. El glanced back at the railing.

“I wasn’t going to do it,” she said.

“You’re damn right you weren’t,” replied Alex. “Now, if you’re done being foolish, your Mom’s here to take you home.”

Thankfully, Alex did not mention the very minor incident on the balcony, El’s parents still blissfully unaware of any sort of experimentation on the teen’s part into her unique genetics. Still, the questions lingered.

Before it had been, more or less, just from curiosity, a desire to know and understand herself. It had devolved, you could say, into a bit of a fixation. Now, though, wasn’t there ample cause to want to prove it? Didn’t she need them now and not simply wish for them?

The desire lingered as well, and it was growing in strength.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On the streets of National City, an opportunity arises for El to play hero, but is she up for it?

There were some minor incidents in the next few days but nothing more from their hybrid hunter. Events seemed to suggest he’d gone to ground because Superwoman was on to him. It was a bit frustrating, knowing he was still out there, but things were able to calm down, a little. Enough, at least, that her parents relaxed the house arrest rules, a little. El no longer had to be escorted home. She was trusted enough to find her way back to the DEO or the penthouse after school.

El let the bus drop her off at 5th. It was still at least 2 stops between her and DEO HQ, but she liked the walk. Noonan’s also happened to lie between her and her destination, and she was definitely in a hot cocoa mood.

The city bustled around the girl, a steady, thriving hum that she’d long since grown comfortable with. It was it’s own, pleasant kind of ambience, such that she took out her earbuds and let the noise wash over her. That was probably why she heard the shout.

There are two types of people. Those who run away from a scream and those who run towards it. In the big city, you were more likely to find the former. Things happened, and you couldn’t deny the sort of normal force of ‘none of my business’, the desire to go about your day and not get involved in something you either didn’t understand or might just cause you more trouble. It was a survival technique.

But that wasn’t what heroes did. If it was run away or towards, El came from a family of the latter. At the same time, though, she’d be lying if she denied there wasn’t a little part of her that reminded itself that danger was the missing piece of the experiment. 

It could have been any sort of incident she stumbled into. A mugging. A kidnapping. It was only random chance that she happened upon an anti-alien attack. El had followed the shout down the street towards an alley. She paused just on the edge and peered around the corner, where she caught sight of two men standing over a third, this one with noticeable scales and olive green skin. 

“Please,” the man on the ground said, his voice with a watery effect to it. “Take my money. Just don’t hurt me.” He held out a wallet. One of the men batted it away.

“We don’t want your filthy cash, greenie,” he shouted.

El pressed herself against the corner of the alley entrance. Logic was screaming at her to get help. This could be very, very dangerous, especially with recent events. She reminded herself, though, that the hybrid hunter was just one person. This was two. Still, her eyes looked down at her wrist. Her hand fumbled with a bracelet there, the one Jeju and Mom had given long ago. It was stylish, with a silver band and a set of three gems in the center. One for Mom, one for Jeju, one for her. The true purpose of it, though, was the ultrasonic signaling device embedded inside. All she had to do was squeeze the centerpiece and a distress call only a Super could hear would go out instantly.

Logic told her to push it right now. Instead, she pulled her sleeve down over the bracelet and stepped into the alley. The two men continued to loom over the third, a Hyborean, by the looks of him. He look terrified. The men seemed to be discussing the best course of action to take out their frustration for their supposed slight’s at the Hyborean’s hand. El squared herself up.

“Hey!” She shouted, and the men turned immediately. A tremor passed through the girl. They were, each, a head taller and had at least 100 pounds on her. She took a breath. “You leave him alone!”

The men sized her up and seemed to reach a mutual conclusion. One popped his chin in her direction. “Move along, little girl. Go play hero somewhere else.” He began to turn back to his quarry.

“I think I’ll play hero right here. Thank you very much,” El shot back, to her exhilaration. Wow, turns out the witty batter just sort of comes naturally.

“You friends with this greenie?” The other man asked as he took a step towards her.

“No,” she said. “But he sure isn’t my enemy.” She nodded to the men. “Jury’s still out on you two.”

They took another step forward. El starting working through her options. Best bet was still the bracelet. Response time could be a couple of minutes, but both of these bigots would be singing a different tune when Superwoman dropped into the alley. She set that aside. She’d been sparring almost weekly with a trained DEO agent for the better part of a year. She knew how to handle herself.

She didn’t bother to ask if the two men also knew how to handle themselves.

They stepped closer, looming over her as much as they had the Hyborean. “Last chance,” one of them said.

El felt the smirk, a reflex more than anything. “I was about to say the same thing to you.”

They were unimpressed. The one on her right stepped forward. El’s foot shot out and connected with the other one’s knee while she threw a backlist towards the first.

Alex Danvers' School of Fighting lesson 1: there is no such thing as taking-turns. The quickest way to end a fight is to throw the first punch, and make it hard enough that you don’t need a second.

The man on the left crumpled with a shout. The man on the right dodged her fist and brought around his own. The girl ducked underneath it and spun around for another strike. Turns out this wasn’t her opponent’s first fight. In fact, she suspected ex-military by the way he intercepted her foot. She spun and brought up her other to strike his cheek, though, throwing him to the ground, and her as well. She picked herself quickly up, just before the other man, now recovered, wrapped an arm around her throat.

The man hauled El off the ground, just as his buddy was also dusting himself off. El looked around frantically, unable to break the hold. If there was ever a time for a previously unknown, hidden power to pop up, this would be it.

It didn’t. What did show were a pair of NCPD squad cars that rolled up outside the alley entrance. The men caught one look at them and dropped the teen like a sack of potatoes. They bolted, only to be met by another car at the far end of the alley, a black suburban. The men didn't get far.

El coughed and sputtered on the alley floor, from embarrassment more than anything. A police officer suddenly stood over her.

“Are you all right, ma’am?” The cop asked.

“I’m fine,” El coughed. “I’m fine.” She tried to get up. The cop laid a hand on her shoulder.

“Why don’t you lie still, miss,” they insisted. “The paramedics are on their way.”

El tried to resist, but there seemed no point. She spied over her shoulder, the Hyborean being assisted by another officer. There was that, at least. She rolled over and sat down on the pavement.

“Can I get your name?” The officer next to her asked.

“Uh, El,” said the girl. “El Danvers-Luthor.”

The cop raised an eyebrow. They had to recognize at least one of those names.

“Danvers-Luthor?” They repeated.

“Yeah,” said El worriedly. “About that, maybe we could forgo the name, for the record?”

“I’ll take it from here, Sergeant,” came another voice. One that El recognized. 

The officer looked past the girl and nodded before moving to help one of their colleagues with the two perps. El, meanwhile, became very acquainted with a spot on the street in front of her, trying very hard not to notice, at all, the figure now standing right next to her. Finally, she couldn’t feign ignorance any longer.

El looked up into the face of DEO Director Alex Danvers. Words could not describe the look her aunt gave her.

_Merde_.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time. No more avoiding. No more delaying. The cat's out of the bag, and El has to come face-to-face with the two people and the one thing she's been avoiding.  
> The moms know.

The paramedics checked El out in the back of the ambulance, and, other than some minor scrapes, she was perfectly fine. But she was about to not be as Alex stepped towards her, shooing the EMT’s away. The girl found a suitable section of the sidewalk to focus on.

She could practically hear Alex’s judgmental glare. Now she knew how her cousin, Astrid, felt that one time she’d snuck out past curfew and ended up at Burning Man.

“There’s inadvisable,” the woman finally began, voice as even as the blade of a knife. “And then there’s stupid. You are my sister’s daughter, so I’m not surprised at the first, but I will be damned if I let you get away with the second.”

El gulped. She tried the altruist approach as a means of deflection. “How’s the Hyborean?”

“He’ll be fine, just shaken up,” Alex fired back, quickly shutting that door as means of escape. “We were nearby. The DEO has been pairing up with NCPD to track anti-alien incidents. Thankfully, someone called 911 when they heard the shout.” The woman stepped closer, until El had to look up at her. “Kind of like you should have done.”

El’s face popped down again. 

“Any particular reason you didn’t?” Alex answered, though they both knew she already knew the answer.

El sighed. “Are you going to tell Mom and Jeju?”

“Is that really what you are most concerned about?” The woman shot back. “El, you could have been seriously hurt or worse. Why, in the world, would you take such an idiotic risk, especially with everything happening recently?”

“I saw someone in trouble,” the teen countered. “What was I supposed to do?”

“I don’t know, use this?” Alex answered, grabbing and holding up El’s wrist. She pointed at the bracelet. She let the girl’s arm drop. “Kiddo-“

“Please don’t ‘kiddo’ me, right now,” El said.

“No,” Alex retorted emphatically. “No, you don’t get to act like…” She stopped suddenly, throwing the brakes on her own maternal rage. The woman put a hand to her mouth and turned a slow circle. When she came back around, she was just a hair calmer. “El, you can’t keep doing this. Sooner or later, you have to face facts.” The woman sighed deeply. “I’m sorry. I really am, but that is life. It doesn’t always work out how you want. You have so much going for you, please, please do not fixate on what you don’t have. It will eat you up.”

El bit her lip. Director Danvers reached out and put a hand on the girl’s shoulder. The teen wanted to listen, she really did, but not as much as she wished she didn’t have to.

“I’m going to have one of my agents drive you home,” Alex said finally. The girl’s head popped up, her mouth opened. Her Aunt held up a finger. “Your cooperation will help me decide whether or not I tell your parents about what happened,” she said. “About everything.”

El gulped. She didn’t argue.

When she got home, Mom was already there, cooking dinner. The woman didn’t say anything as her daughter padded inside, her back to the girl. El wondered what exactly had been communicated, if anything, in the time it took to drive her here. She hoped, perhaps, that nothing had and decided not to chance it in any case.

“I’m home,” she said.

Mom didn’t reply. 

Okay, not a great sign, but it could be worse. El took a deep breath.

“I think I’ll finish homework before dinner,” she said and made a bee-line to the stairs. If she could just get out of the room before anything happened, maybe-

“El,” Mom finally spoke. “We need to talk.”

The girl froze. _Uh oh._

Mom turned around and leaned against the counter, her arms crossed. She stared at the girl with concern.

“What do you think you’re doing, young lady?”

El was smart enough to know she shouldn’t try ignorance, that they were far, far past that. She turned back to her mother but kept looking at the floor.

“Nosing your way into the DEO mainframe is one thing,” Mom continued. “But this… This is beyond foolish. This is dangerous, and you know better. I know you know better.” She stepped away from the counter and ran a hand through her hair. “You know we will always be there for you, but that doesn’t give you the right to willfully endanger yourself, especially not for something so… pointless.”

El almost stepped back. It felt like a punch to the gut. It was bad enough she knew what she was, why did everyone else feel the need to remind her?

“And, now, I have to wonder how long this sort of thing’s been going on,” Mom added with a tinge of disappointment in her voice, quickly growing. “And what we have to do to make sure it doesn’t continue.” She finally stopped and crossed her arms once more. “So what do you have to say for yourself, young lady?”

“I’m sorry,” El whispered.

“That doesn’t fix it, El,” the dark-haired woman said, unconvinced. “You know that doesn’t fix it. I want an explanation.”

El groaned and stomped away a few paces. She didn't want to be having this conversation. Not now. Not ever, really. “It wasn’t that serious,” she said.

“I beg to differ.”

“I just…" She sighed. She didn't want to have this conversation, but they were having it. "I had to know, okay. I had to know.”

“This is not the way to find out, El.”

“What other way is there?” The girl finally cried. Her mother looked back at her with worry, and that just made it worse. She didn't want people feeling sorry for her, for the situation. She wanted the situation to be different, but it wasn't. It wasn't, and she was stuck in it, and maybe she could have just gone on in denial, but that wasn't possible right now because the cat was out of the bag. El finally gave up and spoke her real frustration. “I can’t believe Alex narced on me.” When she looked back up, her mother’s face had taken on a curious twinge.

“Alex?” She said. “What are you talking about?”

The girl stared back, dumbfounded. Lena pointed to her cell sitting on the island bar.

“The police called,” she added. “They said you tried to intervene in some attack on an alien.”

_Oh, damn_ , El thought. _Oh, damn._

“What does Alex have to do with this?” Her Mom asked.

El quickly looked to the side, practically giving herself away. “Nothing,” she attempted.

“El,” Mom said seriously. She stepped towards her daughter. “What does Alex have to do with this?”

“She was there,” the girl tried, futilely. “The DEO showed up. That’s all.”

“No,” Mom repeated. “You said ‘narced’, so clearly there’s something Alex knows that you don’t want me to. What should I be asking your Aunt about?”

“Nothing,” El insisted, rising and turning to the stairs, to any means out of this conversation. “It’s nothing.”

“It’s not nothing,” Lena countered. “Tell me, El.”

“It's not important,” the girl responded as she hit the first step.

“El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor, you turn around right now and talk to me!”

Full name. Never a good sign. The girl deflated. There were certain things even teenage rebellion couldn’t drive her to do, and one was willfully making her Mom that mad. The woman could silence a room with a look, but she rarely used such tactics with her daughter. She didn't need to, and El didn't really want to try. She turned around and stepped back up. Lena looked down at her.

“Aunt Alex and I have been…” the girl trailed off. “Running some tests.”

“What kind of tests?” Lena asked, an eyebrow raised.

“To see,” the girl started and gulped. “Whether or not I had powers.”

She heard her mother gasp. It was like a nail in a coffin, so final.

“How… How long?” The woman asked after a beat.

El shrugged, eyes still fixed downward. “About a year.”

The girl continued to stare at the floor, bracing for the speech, the questions, the torrent of how-could-you-do-this? It never came. When she looked up, it was to her mother’s face, utterly shattered. Her hand was held over her mouth. Her eyes were brimming. She said nothing.

“Mom?” El asked worriedly.

Lena held up a hand to her. It shook slightly. She stepped away. She moved slowly and quietly back to the stove. The girl was caught, unsure what to do.

“Go sit down,” her mother finally ordered. 

“Mom?”

“Go sit down on the couch, please,” Lena repeated evenly. “We’ll discuss this when your Jeju gets home.”

With one last look at her mother, eyes fixed on the stove, hands braced against the counter, El went and sat on the couch. Her mother eventually turned back to the food, finishing whatever she had been stirring and pouring it into a casserole dish before placing it in the oven. Then she grabbed her phone and stepped into the bedroom. Whether she was simply so caught up in her own head that she couldn’t notice or couldn’t care, she didn’t bother closing the door and left the phone on speaker. The girl realized it was a video call. Lena just had to look the recipient for this conversation. El listened as it rang. A voice answered.

“Director Danvers.”

“I’m not going to bother being outraged or playing ignorant, I am just going to ask you if it’s true?” Mom said.

“If what’s true?” Replied Aunt Alex.

“If you let my daughter experiment on herself to see if she had super powers?”

There was silence on the other end, until finally, “Yes, I did.”

“Why?” came the question, and it was hard. Mom’s voice rasped.

“Because she would have just done it herself.”

“She was doing it herself!”

“Only because I cut her off.”

El heard her mother sniffle. She seemed barely holding it together. “You should have told us.”

“She asked me not to. You and I both know how important that kind of trust is. She promised me she would be careful. If it ever got out-of-control, I would have put a stop to it. I did.”

“What about today?”

“Today was the one time I ever doubted her promise to me.”

Mom breathed heavily. “Did you find anything out?”

“She’s a smart, healthy, 18-year-old girl, who is as stubborn and determined as both of her mothers, but, no, nothing beyond that.”

“Alex,” Mom said, and El could hear the tears.

“It’s not your fault.”

“You wouldn’t be saying that if it was Astrid.”

There was a pause. “No, I guess not.”

“I need you to send Kara home,” Mom said after a moment. “I don’t care if you need her there. We need her here, now.”

“She’s just coming back after following up on a lead,” Alex replied. “I’ll send her there right away.”

Mom hung up and came back into the room a few minutes later, the evidence of tears on her face. She wiped at them then turned back to dinner. She was just taking it out of the oven when Jeju alighted on the balcony. El took one glance, and the concerned look the blonde woman told the girl she already knew everything. The teen looked away as she stepped inside.

Kara crossed the room, never taking her eyes off her daughter, until she was next to her wife. She placed a kiss on her neck and gripped her shoulder. Lena looked into her eyes. They turned in unison to El.

“Little one,” Jeju spoke at last. “Can we talk?”

El said nothing, just pulled her knees into her chest on the couch. Mom and Jeju came and sat down on either side of her. The girl felt Jeju reach a tentative hand out to her, only to pull it back after a second thought.

“El Mayarah,” she said gently. “We just want to understand.”

El tucked her head against her legs and willed herself anywhere else but here right now.

“El, please talk to us,” Mom pleaded softly.

El sniffed. “I had to know,” she said finally. She could feel her own tears now, all the pent up disappointment of the last month, the last year. “I had to know,” she repeated. “I had to. Wouldn’t you want to know?” She stared between them. “If you knew what you might be able to do, wouldn’t you want to be sure? Wouldn’t you do anything to be sure?”

They looked back with concern but not denial.

“Maybe,” Lena said. 

“But, El, why not come to us?” Jeju asked.

“Because you would have tried to talk me out of it.”

“No, baby,” said Mom.

“Yes, you would have!” El interjected suddenly, almost beyond herself. The cork was popped. It was all coming out. “You would have told me it didn’t matter, that I was special either way. You would have told me I could be a force for good without being a superhero. You would have told me I was smart and virtuous and that was enough. You wouldn’t have understood!”

Her parents sat back, floored momentarily by the sheer force of the teenager’s words.

“Understood what, sweetie?” Asked Mom.

“That I have to be this!” Cried El, standing up from the couch, forced to her feet by her own distress. “I have to be something more than what I am!”

“Say who?” Asked Jeju.

“Says me!” Said the girl, and she meant it, but the look on her mothers’ face sent her reeling. They didn’t get it, and, no matter what she did, she knew she just couldn’t put it into words. She covered her eyes and screamed out her frustration. “I have potential,” she finally spoke, voice cracked and tired all of a sudden. “I have such potential, and I have to live up to it. I have to.” She cried now. “I have to.”

She felt Jeju stand up and step towards her.

“Why, little one?” Kara whispered with such love. “Why?”

El hissed between her teeth. Why did she have to be wearing that suit now? Why? The girl stepped back. She finally burst.

“Because,” she said. “Because one day Kal is going to retire, and, when he does, Jonathan will be right there to take over. But when you retire, Jeju, who will be there to take over? Who?”

Jeju shook her head. “I don’t know, El. I don’t know, but that doesn’t mean it’s your problem.”

“Isn’t it?” The girl practically screamed. She looked between the women again. “Shouldn’t you and Mom be able to go away, some day, put it all aside and rest and just be with each other? Shouldn’t you have that option?” El pounded her chest. “Isn’t that why I’m here?”

Jeju could only stare back, dumbstruck. “Is that…?” She tried. “Is that what you think, El? Is that what you think we think?”

The girl could only drop her head. “Shouldn’t someone?” She poked her chest again. “Isn’t that what my name means?”

“No, baby,” Kara said immediately, stepping forward, strong arms ready to wrap up her daughter and shield her from everything that could possibly hurt her, but how can you protect her from what’s inside herself?

El stepped away, holding an arm out against her.

Kara looked at her daughter sadly. She turned to her wife, unsure what to do, only to see the same forlorn look on her face, this one, however, seemed more severe. Something else had clearly occurred to her.

“Is that why you…” the dark-haired woman whispered. “Picked NCU?”

El’s mouth dropped open. Caught once more.

Lena rose from the couch. “Is that why you want to go to NCU, El?” She asked again. “Because you think you need to stay here in case you get powers?”

Kara caught that and whipped around to El, who just looked away. She didn’t need to answer. She didn’t need to say a word. It was all right there. She was found out. There was nothing to be done for it. Except get away.

El turned and tore down the stairs to her room.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In the aftermath of revelations, what's a girl to do?  
> Thankfully, she's never been alone. This looks like a job for the moms.  
> Softness ensues.

There was a _mew_ from somewhere in the room. El looked up from her tear-stained pillow to see Streaky sauntering across the floor. The cat reached the edge of her duvet and hopped up gracefully. He purred while ramming his head softly against the girl’s arm until she raised it to pet him. The black feline flopped down beside her, utterly content. She found she was tremendously jealous of him.

It wasn’t fair. Not a bit of it. What might be most unfair was that it was absolutely no one’s fault. It was just the way things were, which was the worst thing there was. Right up there with the fact that there was nothing the girl, or anyone really, could do about it.

She hadn’t meant to hurt them. Though she knew she did. Looking back, if she had to guess at how she would have wanted it to go down when they did find out, because they were always going to find out, the truth was she had been banking a lot on having some kind of success with the tests. After all, they couldn’t really be mad if she proved she actually had powers. Maybe they could, but not for long.

But that hadn’t been how it fell out. Every test came up negative, every effort frustrated by complete normalcy. And that was the really hurtful part about it. She wasn’t fighting neglect or abuse or disadvantage. She was fighting to be something else than what she was. She was struggling because, deep down, she didn’t think she was quite enough. And, whatever her reasons, there was no way in hell Lena Luthor and Kara Danvers would ever let their daughter believe that. Not for one second.

El was startled by a tap on her window. She looked up to her balcony to see the floating figure of Jeju there. She waved with one hand. She held up the other, holding a plate of food. El slid off the bed to Streaky’s protests. She moved the door aside and stepped out onto the balcony.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Jeju said and offered the plate. 

El took it. The woman gasped suddenly, reached behind her belt and pulled out a napkin wrapped around a fork. She smiled as she held it out to the girl. El smiled small-ly back and took it. 

“Mind if I join you?” Jeju asked.

El nodded. They settled down on the floor of the balcony. The girl had never been one for furniture out here. So her parents had opted for a cushy, all-weather padding, great for staring up at the stars, or just lounging. Streaky certainly liked it. El dug in while Jeju watched her silently.

“Is Mom mad?” The teen asked after a minute. She kept her eyes on her food, afraid of the answer.

Kara shook her head. “No, little one. She’s not mad. Neither of us are mad. Worried is all.”

El sighed and glanced at Jeju. Worried wasn’t much better. Jeju looked out over the city.

“Did I ever tell you that you were her idea?” She said.

El considered this. “I thought I was both of yours?” Mom liked to joke, but she had always been told it was a mutual thing, the decision to have her. Most of the decisions her parents made were. It was a bit inspiring.

“Well, we certainly decided together that we wanted to have children,” Jeju answered. “But I thought we would adopt. Kelly and Alex had just gotten Astrid, and she was a little older than expected, but they were so good together, so happy. I thought that was what we would do. It seemed our only option.” Jeju sighed wistfully. 

“Then your Mom came to me with this stuff about Human-Kryptonian artificial insemination. She had done so much research, which wasn’t surprising for her, but she hadn’t told me about it at all. I didn’t want to sound ungrateful, of course, but it seemed so unnecessary. The harvesting and implantation, and then pregnancy on top of that. But she told me… She wanted it to be a gift. For me.” Kara looked at her daughter. “She wanted you to be a gift for me.”

The blonde woman looked down at her hands. “When I got to Earth, Kal was already grown. My whole purpose for coming was gone. It was nice knowing there was another Kryptonian out there, but I felt so alone. That loneliness stayed with me for a long time, and it wasn’t always as bad. I didn’t always feel it as much, but it was there. Your Mom knew. I told her about it. In fact, when we actually got together, even before we did, she was one of the few things on this Earth that made me feel like I wasn’t alone.” 

Kara smiled at the memory. El knew the stories. Of two people, forgotten by family, outcasts, who somehow in this mixed-up world found each other, and from the first moment they met were locked in each other’s pull. How they had convinced themselves for years it was just a ‘friends’ thing. Until they both were finally ready to admit what they had known all along.

“I was the Last Daughter of Krypton,” Jeju went on. “Your Mom said, that if we did this, if we made you, then I wouldn’t be anymore, and she wanted to give me that.” Kara laid a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “But that wasn’t what sold me, El,” she said. “What won me over wasn’t the thought that Krypton, my genes, would survive. What really convinced me that I wanted you was the thought that you would be part her." The blonde woman stroked the girl's dark tresses. "El, your Kryptonian half was never the most important thing to me. It was your human half, because it came from your Mom, and when I look at you, that’s what I see. Her hair, her eyes, her intelligence, her love of people. Her mouth.”

El chuckled.

“Granted you have my nose,” Jeju added with a laugh of her own. “But, from day one, before day one, when day one was still an idea in our heads, I always knew what I would love about you, and it had nothing to do with what you could or couldn’t do.”

El’s head dropped. Kara pulled her closer. The girl let the tears flow.

“I just want them, Jeju,” she sobbed. “I just want them so badly, and it hurts so much that I can’t have them.”

Jeju ran a soothing hand over her arm. She cooed quietly into the girl’s hair.

“Maybe it would be different if I wasn’t half-alien” El added. “Maybe if I didn’t have a drop of Kryptonian DNA in me I wouldn’t feel this way, but I do, and I just don’t know how else to feel.”

“I know, little one. I know,” her Jeju assured her. “I know what’s that like, to want something so badly it itches all over you.”

The girl nodded. That’s how it felt, like a hunger that you just couldn’t fill.

“What did you do?” El asked.

“It’s not about doing, Ellie,” Jeju said. “It’s about believing that, whether you get it or not, you are still you. Still wonderful, amazing you. And I know that sounds trite, but it’s true.” The blonde woman lifted the girl’s chin to look at her face. “You astound me, constantly. With everything you do and everything you are. Rao, baby, some days, I just can’t believe that we made you.”

El chuckled dryly. “I know. Mom’s told me about the science, multiple times.”

Kara shook her head. “I don’t mean that. I don’t mean cooking you up in a lab, or even your Mom’s tummy.”

El rolled her eyes. “I know what a uterus is, Jeju.”

“Whatever,” the woman laughed. “I don’t mean any of that. I meant we made you, together, not with science but love. That’s why we called you El Mayarah. That was both of our ideas.” Jeju squeezed the girl tight against her. “See I wanted something that started with L because, well, I thought it would be hilarious. Your Mom was not impressed but suggested Eliza, after your Grandma, which definitely worked for both of us. Then I said we could just call you ‘El’ for short and how ironic that would be since it’s the name of my house. Then Mom remembered our house motto and what it meant, and suddenly we both knew, our child would be called ‘El Mayarah’. It was so perfect, because that’s what you were going to be. We knew that before you were even conceived. ‘Stronger Together’, and not genetically or biologically, but stronger because we loved you together. You are both of us, all our best bits, all the love and care we have for each other and for you. That’s what your name means, El Mayarah. You are the living embodiment of our love, and that has never had anything to do with how much you could lift. That is a strength that I could never match with muscle.”

El looked up at her Jeju and thanked her lucky stars for the millionth time she was blessed enough to come from her. She leaned against her and felt firm arms wrapping around her and knew the strength that radiated from them was so much deeper that body. She was loved, and that would never change.

There was a beep. Kara hummed in disappointment before leaning back and looking at El.

“I can stay,” she said.

The girl shook her head. “Duty calls. I’m okay.”

“We’ll talk more tomorrow,” Jeju said and tapped El’s chin. She kissed her forehead, then stood and floated off. With a final wave she jetted into the sky.

El watched her go. There was that pang, still, of want, but there was love all around it. That was enough.

* * *

The next morning, El came up the stairs to find Mom making breakfast. The teen sat down and was soon served eggs and bacon. Mom took a seat at the table as well.

“Jeju had to head in early,” she replied to the girl’s raised eyebrow.

El nodded and started to eat. She eyed the dark-haired woman for a minute.

“Are you mad?” She finally asked.

The woman’s own fork paused on its way to her mouth. “No, sweetie, I’m not mad.”

“Are you disappointed?”

The woman stared back. “No,” she said.

El waited.

“Maybe a little,” Lena added.

“In me?”

“No.” 

El chewed quietly.

“Maybe a little,” Mom admitted with a quiet huff. “But only a little. Mostly I’m disappointed in myself.”

“What for?” The teenager had to ask.

“Because I’m your mother,” was the immediately reply. Lena sipped her coffee. “Because I think I should have seen it sooner, should have asked more questions, should have done more to make sure you knew how much we love and value you exactly as you are.” The woman finally shrugged. “When you become a mother-“

The teen had to groan.

“I know, I know,” Lena quickly admitted. “But one of the hardest things you learn as a parent is that there is so much you can’t control.” She sighed. “Kara and I have tried, so hard, to make a loving, accepting home.”

“You have,” El said.

“Thank you, but even if we make this a perfectly safe place, there’s still a whole world out there that can hurt you,” said Mom. “And now I realize there’s a world in here too.” With that, she reached out a hand to tap her daughter’s temple. “There’s only so much we can do to counter that.”

El nodded. She thought back to what Jeju had said last night. She remembered there was two halves to herself. One from each of her mothers. “You know, I don’t resent you," she said, then immediately backpedaled mentally, not sure how to say what she wanted to say without insulting her. "I'm proud of where I come from, who I come from. I know I have your looks, your wit. I don't hate that part of me..." She shook her head. The tears began to well.

A hand reached out and grabbed hers. She looked up into green eyes with love as deep as the sea in them.

"I just wanted this," the girl went on. "I just wanted it so badly. I don't want you to feel bad. Like you messed up or something. Either of you. I know you’re both trying.”

Lena smiled. She reached out with her other hand to stroke her daughter’s cheek. “I know that, baby.” She sighed again as she stared, taking in the girl's face. "Everyone says how much you look like me, but when I look at you I see her." She smiled again and shook her head. “You know I was convinced I was going to be a bad mother. I had no positive role models for it, but, Jeju, oh, I knew she’d take to it like breathing.”

El chuckled. “She says the same thing about you.”

“I know,” Mom replied with a quiet smile. “The truth is we’re figuring this all out as we go. We have as many bumps and scrapes as you in this.” Mom squeezed El’s fingers. “This was a bump. I hope you know that. That’s all this is, because there’s nothing you could do or say that would make us stop loving you. You even try, we’ll just love you harder.”

“Thanks, Mom.”

Lena smiled. She took a breath as she grabbed her cup again. “That being said, I’d like you to look at other universities.”

El’s mouth dropped open. “Mom-“

“I know what you said, and I know what I said.” Lena tapped her coffee mug rhythmically. “But part of being a parent is challenging your children, so that’s what I’m going to do. If you really have your heart set on NCU, if that will make you happy and fulfilled, fine, but I want you to put in some work looking at other places, and I think we should schedule campus visits. Even if you don’t end up wanting to go, it’ll still be good experience.” Lena shrugged. “And it’ll be a nice excuse to get out of town. Tear it up, girl’s weekend style.”

El grinned back at her Mom. She nodded. “Okay, I’ll make up a list.”

“Thank you, Ellie-baby,” said the dark-haired woman. She rose from her seat and planted a kiss on her daughter’s head. “Now get ready for school.”

* * *

After dinner that night, as promised, they talked more. It was a conversation that had been a long time coming, and, despite the awkwardness, the hurricane of feelings it presented, El felt safe. Kara and Lena wrapped themselves around their daughter, blankets all over the trio of them on the couch. They talked. El described the tests she had asked Alex to run. Strength and speed and reflexes. She recounted every result, nothing horrible, but, at the same time, each one more disappointing than the last. Then she told them about the Kryptonite. The final straw, it had seemed. That’s when the crying started. Ice cream featured heavily after that.

But they stayed with her, late into the evening. Never accusing, never questioning beyond a simple query here and there. They let the girl unfold all the insecurities that had been building over the last year, maybe, in some ways, over the last eighteen. Jeju checked her phone once, twice. She mentioned Brainy was running down a theory about their hybrid hunter, but she never got called in. Whatever was happening in the city was minor enough that it didn’t need Superwoman, or, El suspected, the DEO Director had decided that before the night even began. In the end, it was just them, Mom, Jeju, and El, like it had always been. The Super-Family.

In the end, there was healing. In the way that a scab is a good sign. The spot was still rough, tender to the touch, but they were beginning to understand each other again. After a lot of hiding, El was opening up. That had never not been a good thing in this house.

At some point, El finally conked out. She woke up in her room the next morning and knew her mothers had carried her to bed, so like when she was a little girl. It felt good.

It wasn’t everything, but it was something.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With one problem dealt with, another arises. The hybrid hunter returns, and there's something very dangerous about him.
> 
> Sorry for the short chapter, but you know I had to leave you with a cliffhanger.

El got the alert on her phone that next afternoon. Her family was fairly good at keeping her up-to-date on important matters, especially with Jeju’s work, but, occasionally, CatCo had the scoop, even without their inside source. She popped out her phone as she was walking out of school. SuperWatch notification. She opened it to a red-banded article. Emergency. Breaking news. The girl scrolled quickly.

_Superwoman spotted in fight. Downtown. Alien assault._

The hybrid angle of their assailant had been kept out of the press, but El recognized the description. Kara had found their man, and, apparently, he was strong enough to go toe-to-toe with her. That wouldn’t end well.

The teen decided to forgo the bus. Too slow, not direct enough. She called their car service. While she waited, she refreshed the CatCo Direct app. There were witnesses on the ground, and the #Superwoman hashtag was lighting up social media. Conflicting reports, but enough to signal it was a serious tussle.

The car arrived, and El leapt in.

“DEO, Charles,” she said immediately. Her driver nodded and began weaving into traffic aggressively. El watched her phone. The reports were still coming in, but there was a lot of repetition. In social media short-hand that meant whatever had happened had stopped. There wasn’t any more to go on, so people kept tumbling through what they already knew in new and occasionally outrageous permutations. For a minute or so, there was a serious thread on how Superwoman had been beaten. Someone was posting what looked to be badly edited shots from Jeju's fight with Reign years ago. El didn't believe them for a second, but she kept scrolling.

A few minutes later, Charles nodded to her from the front seat. “Ms. Luthor just made a pickup request. We’re not that far, if you don’t mind.”

“Yes,” El replied emphatically. That, also, wasn’t a good sign.

Soon, they rolled up to L-Corp headquarters, just as a darkly-dressed, high-heeled powerhouse stepped to the curb. Lena waived Charles off as he was halfway out of the car to open her door. 

El’s Mom slid into the seat next to her. “On your way, Charles,” she said steadily but forcibly.

“Is Jeju okay?” The girl immediately asked.

“She’s at the DEO,” Mom replied. “She’s all right, but it was rough.” El waited for the next part. It was written on the woman’s face as she removed her black shades. “He got away.”

They arrived at the DEO a moment later. Despite the felt urgency, Lena Luthor strode with purpose, ever the picture of a woman composed, in control. It did not begin to fade until they neared the med-bay upstairs.

The Hub was alight, agents moving back and forth, information rotating across the monitor. They found a technician standing by a bed. Jeju was sitting on it. Her cape had been removed and part of her suit pulled away. As they approached, it was evident why.

There were twin lines cut across her shirt. The skin underneath was red but already healing. El gasped, grinding to a halt as she took it in. Jeju had been hit. Mom didn’t stop, dropping her purse into a chair and shedding her coat in one motion before stepped right past the technician and wrapping her arms around Jeju’s neck.

“I’m okay,” Kara whispered into her wife’s arm. She lifted a hand to stroke dark hair. “I’m okay.”

Lena nodded but did not let go for a second. El stepped tentatively forward. Jeju noticed her and waved the girl over.

“Hey, little one,” she said and forced a smile. “Come here.”

El Danvers-Luthor closed the distance and wrapped her own arms around the woman. She felt strong arms hug her back. They were soon joined by another set as all three of them held onto each other tight.

Eventually, they parted. El’s curiosity could not be held off any longer. “What happened?”

Kara sighed. “DEO set up a sting operation,” she said. “Brainy had the idea to broadcast false biometric readings as a kind of lure. We set the bait this afternoon, and our man bit.”

Lena ran a hand across the lines on Kara’s skin. The blonde woman winced ever so slightly. “He did this?”

Kara nodded. “Yeah, that’s…” she stopped and shook her head. When she looked up, she was staring at El.

“What?” The girl asked, but they were interrupted by Alex at the door.

“Sorry to interrupt,” the Director said. She stepped forward and held a tablet out to Kara. “I thought you might want to review the video captures we were able to get.”

Kara took the computer, and they all quickly crowded around the screen. It showed a series of shots, some a little distorted, clearly taken by someone moving fast, fleeing the scene for a safe distance. There was Superwoman locked in a wrestling match with a man dressed in a long, tattered coat and what looked like blue scrubs or some kind of jumpsuit underneath. El didn’t recognize him, but there were several good shots of the man’s face.

“Do we know who it is?” Lena was the first to ask.

Alex shook her head. “We’re running facial recognition through the alien database, but nothing yet.”

“He was strong,” Jeju added. “Stronger than I expected. I don’t know if he’s been holding back with the others or if he got better, but he was a match for me.”

El reached out a hand and kept scrolling through the pictures. There was one shot that made her stop. She flipped back to get the sequence. The man was turning to Superwoman, his face blank, no emotion visible. Around his eyes there was a kind of aura, light amber in color. It made him look like he was wearing goggles, pasted or projected onto his face. The girl flipped to the next shot. The color of the amber darkened. In the next, his eyes glowed. In the next, twin beams of fire sprang from them straight towards Superwoman.

Lena gasped. The teen could only stare dumbstruck. They still didn’t know who this guy was, but the implication as to his origins was clear.

“He’s Kryptonian,” El whispered.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A closer look at the hybrid hunter, and a soft domestic respite.

"Dr. David Connor," Querl spoke in his usual, perfect diction.

A picture appeared on the screen of a smiling, rather normal-looking man in his upper 30's who bore a resemblance to the man currently attacking hybrids in National City, minus the weird, goggle look. The likeness was further reinforced when another picture appeared opposite him, a capture from Superwoman's fight. Biographical information appeared on the screen between the photos.

"A scientist working out of a STAR Labs associated facility in Metropolis," Brainy continued. "He was reporting missing 6 months ago."

They all, Mom, Jeju, Alex, and El, stared at the photos. The Hub had quieted down significantly from the initial turmoil. No further word of their assailant, but everyone's eyes and ears were open. For now, it was time they knew their enemy.

"Is he a Worldkiller?" El asked. She watched Jeju glance towards her. Despite the girl's well-documented curiosity, and propensity for satisfying said curiosity, it still surprised her parents what she knew that she wasn't supposed to know.

"That was my initial theory," Brainy replied. "However, this particular individual's age does not track with the others. As far as we know, all Worldkillers were deployed at the same time."

"Assuming his age here is accurate," Alex pointed out, crossing to the center table. "What do we know about Dr. Connor?"

"Ironically, a considerable amount," said Brainy. He touched his tablet and the biographical information expanded on the monitor. "Born in Ohio, raised by two parents, one sister, valedictorian of his high school, attended MIT, and he has been working for STAR Labs' Metropolis branch for 8 years. He's also apparently a fan of Settlers of Catan."

Querl was right, it was a considerable amount. El scanned over the numbers. Dr. Connor was, for all appearances, an ordinary scientist. No history of anti-alien sentiment, no unexplained phenomena, not even a criminal record, unless you counted a handful of parking infractions. Who was this guy, and how was he walking around with Kryptonian powers? El wasn't jealous, not really, but she was worried. She could feel the room. They all were.

"He might not be a born Kryptonian," Mom suggested. "It wouldn't be the first time someone's tried to replicate their abilities."

"What sort of work was Dr. Connor doing for STAR Labs?" Jeju asked. She had been cleared by medical and traded her costume, in need of repair, for a DEO shirt and pants.

"I'm attempting to find out," Querl answered. "His background is in nanotechnology, but we've put in a request with STAR for any research Dr. Connor was performing prior to his disappearance."

"Good," Alex said. "Let's also have a peek into their files ourselves."

"I do believe they will answer our request," Brainy stated.

"I imagine they will," replied the DEO Director. "But I want to make sure they're telling us the whole truth." She waved a hand to the monitor. "Nothing about this smells right."

That was for sure. Normal enough guy suddenly gets superpowers and goes on a cross-country tour harassing hybrids, and there was still the question of overall end goal. What was this for anyway?

"Well," Mom said at last. "If it's all right, I'd like to take Kara home with us."

Alex nodded. "We'll continue working, but I don't think we'll need her anymore tonight."

"Let me get my stuff," said Jeju.

Mom followed her back to the med bay. El watched them go. She felt her Aunt slid in beside her. The woman nudged her arm.

"You okay?" she asked.

El nodded, confused.

"Just thought you might be feeling, you know?" Alex said as she motioned towards the monitor and the goggled individual with the heat vision. "Some people have all the luck."

The girl understood. She couldn't deny the little pang of desire, but it was overridden by a stronger one. "I'm just glad Jeju's okay."

Alex wrapped an arm around her niece. "We'll get this guy. Don't you worry."

El nodded again, solemnly. She wasn't jealous, but she couldn't ignore the tremor, deep inside, that reminded her she was a hybrid. There was no indication he was hunting her specifically, or anyone for that matter. For all they knew, he was some buggy science experiment. Still, after how he had held his own with Superwoman, the girl wished she could help, in some way that mattered.

They took a car home. El sat beside her parents and watched as her Mom's hand never let go of her Jeju's. "Are you hungry?" the dark-haired woman asked.

Her wife smiled. "Always!"

"We've got some leftovers," Lena replied. "I'll whip something up when we get home."

"Or..." Kara hummed with clear ulterior motives. "We could order pizza rolls?"

Mom gave her a stern look, if soft underneath. "Kara."

"Oh, come on, I didn't die," Jeju insisted. "That's a cause worth celebrating." She motioned excitedly to the woman's phone. "If you call it in now, we won't have to wait as long."

"If we're taking votes," El ventured from her side of the car, raising a hand.

Mom rolled her eyes, obviously outnumbered. She pulled out her phone. "Fine," she groaned. "We'll have celebratory, nobody-died pizza rolls."

Kara and El cheered. "And a salad!" the girl added. To which her Jeju whipped her head around with a look of such betrayal.

Their order arrived not long after they made it home and everybody had changed into more comfortable clothes. They formed a cuddled mass on the couch and passed around greasy, cheesy goodness while watching old movies. It was warm and soft and quiet. Just the right balm to make the terror of earlier, however short-lived, have less of an impact on their day. El enjoyed the mere presence of her parents beside her. They seemed to be enjoying it too, wrapped up even tighter in each other's embrace. The girl felt her Mom shift as her Jeju whispered something in her ear. There was another shift, and Mom practically jumped. Rao, they could be worse than teenagers, sometimes. Lena grunted, pointedly, at her wife. El knew that was her cue.

"I think I'll turn in," she volunteered.

"Oh," Jeju said, blushing, obviously caught.

"Sweetie, you don't have-," Mom started before her daughter waved her off.

"I wouldn't dream of stopping you two," El laughed.

Mom blushed too. Jeju couldn't stop smiling.

"Good night, little one," Kara said.

"Good night," El replied and padded over to the stairs. Before she went down, she took one last look. Jeju was holding her wife close, her nose nuzzled in the woman's dark tresses, a blissful smile across Mom's face. The girl smiled, too. Some people have all the luck.


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El starts her own investigation into their hybrid hunter, and more college talk.

Their hybrid hunter had gone to ground again. No sightings, no incidents. The quiet was nice, but there was always the specter of where he would show up next. Her mothers still let El go to and from school on her own, but they asked she take the car service for the time being. It wasn't a bad way to get around, of course, but she missed the bus.

With the threat still very much out there, all the more dangerous now that they knew what he was capable of, and El being El, the teen decided the DEO and Superwoman could use all the help they could get. So, once again, she found herself traipsing through the DEO archives. Really, by now, they should just be expecting it. 

Considering there were, to public knowledge, only two remaining Kryptonians in existence, the last son, Kal El, and the last daughter, Kara Zor-El, it was ironic how many actually ended up on Earth. Even before alien amnesty had become a topic of serious debate, it seemed that Earth had been a major stopping point for the galaxy, Krypton included.

There had been no Worldkiller sightings since that whole Reign incident. That had been long before El was born, and no one, not even Alex, liked to talk about it. But it stood to reason that there could very well be some other bits of Kryptonian technology hanging around. The planet had been host to an entire Kryptonian prison, once. This guy certainly fit the bill, but the more they looked at it, the less he seemed to fit any previous Kryptonian encounters. He wasn't one of Non's holdovers. He couldn't be a Daxamite. And he just didn't have the same vibe as Worldkiller. Whatever he was, whatever this was, it was something else. That worried the girl. It also kind of fascinated her.

* * *

The car dropped her off in front of L-Corp International. "Hi, Karen," El said as she passed the security desk.

"Good afternoon, Ms. Danvers-Luthor," the guard replied, not bothering with an ID badge.

El took the elevator up to the top floor and stepped out into a posh waiting room. A well-tailored, cheery woman looked up at her from behind a desk.

"How can I- Oh!" she said, halfway through the intro before she noticed who had stepped off the elevator. "Hi, El!"

"Hey, Hope," the girl replied and returned the smile. "Is Mom free?"

"Just finishing up a call," the assistant answered. "But you go right on in. Can I get you anything?"

"No, thanks, I'll help myself."

The woman nodded as the girl let herself through the door. Lena Luthor's office served many functions, and it's decor was near perfectly designed to accommodate each and every aspect its occupant required. The couches were stylish yet surprisingly comfortable, excellent for casual appointments and the regular lunch date with Jeju. The desk was artistic yet spartan, functional enough for the woman working behind it with just the right amount of intimidating for the person who had to sit in front. And the wet bar in the corner came fully stocked, just what a world-weary CEO needed at the end of a long day of board meetings.

Mom waved to El as the teen stepped into the room. The woman leaned towards her computer, a headset nestled in her ear.

"Yes, we're looking at those projections now," she said, listening to the reply on the other end. "Well, that really depends on you, now doesn't it?"

El stepped over to the wet bar and poured a soda for herself, listening to what she could from the call. She watched her Mom raise a hand to rub the bridge of her nose rhythmically.

"You have the data," Lena added. "You have all the data. It's up to you to accept what it's telling you." There was a pause as she waited through whatever counterargument/excuse she was being handed by the other end.

El started pouring another drink from a crystal decanter.

"Well, you know my opinion," Mom said. "Take that with what importance you deem necessary. Seeing as how all points have been discussed, I'll leave you to it. I have something that requires far more of my attention right now. Good day."

The dark-haired woman tapped her headset and immediately deflated, letting out a long breath.

"Hello, sweetie," she said.

"Hi, Mom," El replied and set a glass of dark amber liquid on the woman's desk.

Lena eyed the glass, then eyed her daughter. "Scotch?"

El tapped the bridge of her nose. "You were talking to Beijing again."

Lena's brow curled, and then she laughed shortly. She pointed at the glass. "It should disturb me that you know I need this, but, sadly, I do." she took a sip from the glass while pointing at the girl's. "That is soda, correct?" she asked sternly.

"Yes, ma'am."

Lena nodded and took another sip. She sighed in relief. She heard something land gently on her desk, and, when she looked down, her daughter was holding out a tablet towards her.

"He's not a Worldkiller," the girl said.

Lena looked between the screen, her daughter, and her scotch. She sighed again, then grabbed the scotch and the tablet and stepped over to the couch.

"I see," she intoned. "You ply me with alcohol and then admit you've been sneaking into the DEO mainframe again." She slid down onto the couch. "How very like your Jeju."

El slid down beside her. "It's a little more like you, Mom."

The woman glared, then smirked. "I can't fault you for that." You took another sip then set the drink aside and turned to the screen now. "And how did you come to this conclusion, my young scientist?"

El reached a hand over to tap the tablet. A file opened, with clear DEO watermarks. Several pictures panned out. One of Reign. One of Superwoman. One of their Connor-Kryptonian. All of them were using their heat vision.

"Look," the teen instructed. She pointed at Superwoman. "Native Kryptonian heat vision also comes out blue, like with Jeju or Kal. Even Jonathan's is, though a lighter shade." She pointed to the photo of Reign, feeling her mother stiffen unconsciously at the sight. "Worldkiller heat vision was bright red, likely as a product of the genetic manipulation. But check out our new guy." She pointed to the capture of the hybrid hunter. His eye beams were a bright amber, almost gold. "A different wavelength entirely."

Lena looked over the data. She nodded along. "Interesting," she said, tapping the screen to expand each photo in turn. "And what is your theory as to cause?" she asked, with a playful look to the teen.

"Well," El replied, straightening up and taking a practiced vocal tone. "Kryptonian physiology is able to absorb, convert, and release yellow solar radiation, most directly in the form of heat vision, the spectrum of which seems to be dependent on the genetic makeup of their cells. Jeju's and Kal's are blue because they are pure blood Kryptonians. Their bodies know how to process the radiation most effectively. Worldkillers were red because they were more intense but less sustainable. Our new guy, Dr. Connor..." She tapped the screen again.

Lena nodded, understanding. "He's less efficient."

"Exactly," the girl said. "He's not a Worldkiller, and he doesn't appear to be a native Kryptonian, so, whatever, he is, it's something else. Maybe even something artificial."

Lena smiled at her daughter, most impressed. "Excellent analysis," she said and handed the tablet back. "You know the DEO has probably already figured that out, right?"

El huffed. "Well, all the more reason for them to include me, so we're not duplicating work."

"Ellie," Mom chided sweetly. She patted her daughter's arm and glanced back at the tablet. "Are you okay?"

El looked at her, following her gaze down to the screen. The picture of their new menace was prominently displayed. The girl shrugged.

"I'm not jealous or anything," she said.

"I should hope not," replied Mom. She pulled the girl closer. "But it's okay if you are."

El nestled into her mother's embrace. "I just wish I could help," she admitted. "Like actually help."

"I know what you mean," her Mom said, stroking her hair gently. "But there are other ways to help."

El nodded then turned to her mother with a smirk. "So, you agree I should be assisting the DEO with their investigation."

The woman's jaw dropped. "Oh, you are clever," she said. "You should think about being a lawyer."

"Can't," the girl replied. "Too much heart."

"Of that I'm glad," Lena said with a shoulder squeeze for emphasis. "Speaking of possible majors, though..."

_Damn, that woman is good_ , El thought.

"Have you thought about other colleges?"

El sat back and nodded. "I made a short list." She swiped through her tablet and brought up a note with a list of 8 or 9 institutes of higher education. Lena looked over the list with curiosity, humming with approval at a few of the selections.

"CalTech?" she asked.

"Yeah," El confirmed. "I don't think I'm going to attend, but it'd be nice to see their labs. What's that you say about learning how not to do things?"

The dark-haired woman chuckled at that. "True. True." She tapped another entry. "MIT. Nice."

"I thought it'd be fun for you to show me around your old stomping grounds."

Lena smiled. "It would be fun. Oh, there are some spots I remember that..." and the woman seemed to suddenly recall she was talking to her daughter, "I will not be showing you at all."

"Well, now I really want to see them," the girl said with a sly grin.

"Not a chance, young lady," Mom replied and shook her head stolidly.

"Oh come on, how bad could it be?"

"Bad, El," was all Mom would say. "I had my wild child moments."

"Oh, please, your wild child moments involved trying to find the cure for cancer while working out of a garage."

"That came later. Before that, MIT, was a different story. You'll remember I was your age and very much rebelling from a sheltered upbringing. You would not believe some of the things I got up to."

"Like?"

"Well, there was this one weekend-" the woman started and then froze suddenly. She looked to her daughter, to the very innocent-seeming face she had plastered on. "Oh you are too good, you know that?"

"Can't blame a girl for trying."

"I most certainly can!" Lena exclaimed as she poked the teen in the ribs. That quickly devolved into a full-on tickling session, where Mom continued to be the undefeated champion.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> El finds the hybrid hunter. Or has the hybrid hunter found her?

"Superwoman was sighted earlier today, helping with a turned over tractor trailer, but there's not been much news of the hero since. The semi was carrying raw sewage, so, who knows, maybe our local Super had to send the suit out for dry cleaning. Moving onto other news..."

El listened to the CatCo app's new-scroll as she made her way to Noonan's. She always liked this walk. It was easy to get the car to let her out a couple of blocks early just so she could soak up the city in the late afternoon light. SuperWatch wasn't much today. Her cousins in Metropolis had faced their normal fare, bank robberies, bridge jumpers, but, with two Supers in one city, there wasn't much in the way of crises these days. Jeju usually managed to fit in a few incidents, though, so it was a little odd to not have anything else about her today. She must be following up on something with the DEO. El could figure what.

There hadn't been hide nor hair of their Dr. Connor since the last fight. He'd gone to ground before, waiting for the heat to die down, but Alex thought it might be something else. He might have changed his tactics, opting for a less obvious direction towards whatever his actual goal was. That made him even more dangerous because his next move could be anything.

Mom said the DEO had taken her theory on his origins "under advisement", which either meant she had made a brilliant breakthrough but they didn't want to give her the satisfaction or they had already figured that out but didn't want to give her the satisfaction. Either way, El took it as a good sign and, perhaps, an invitation for future research on her part.

Brainy's inquiry into Dr. Connor's work at STAR Labs had returned some basic information. The doctor's background was in nanotechnology, and STAR confirmed he was involved in various projects along those lines. It was all very straightforward, and Aunt Alex saw straight through it. The information was just a little too basic, which meant they were smoke-screening, hoping to volunteer enough info to convince the DEO there wasn't anything else going on that might be a little more interesting, a little more alien. Querl was likely already making himself familiar with their restricted files.

El moved through the crosswalk, a block out from the coffee shop. She turned at the corner to make her way over to the opposite side of the street where Noonan's stood. She glanced over her shoulder to check cross-traffic when a bit of color caught her eye. It was only for a moment, and, in any other instance, it would probably have gone unnoticed, but it was a particular color, one she thought she had seen before.

El's eyes scanned the crowd making their way down the block she had just come from. There were a few business people, one or two vendors, some tourists it looked like, and one man in a long, ratty coat, with a hood pulled over his head, his head noticeably dipped down.

_It couldn't be_ , she thought. The clothes matched, though. The girl turned away, her back to his direction, and pulled out her phone. Making it look like she was checking something out, she angled it to reflect over her shoulder and pressed the camera button. She pulled it back quickly, scanning the image of the street. She pinched, zooming in, and there was the color her eyes had caught before.

Amber. The hooded man's eyes were covered with an amber aura, almost like goggles.

El breathed. She went through her options. The bracelet was the safest bet, but if she hit the button, Jeju would think she was in danger. There were a lot of people out here, and if Superwoman suddenly dropped in it would be like last time. Better to handle this quickly and quietly.

El opened her phone and texted the photo to Alex with her geotag. The response came a second later. El was startled when her phone rang.

“Hello?"

"Where the hell did you get that?" came her Aunt's voice, gruff and serious.

"Across the street from Noonan's," El replied. She wondered, for a moment, if her Aunt hadn't checked the geotag, and why not just text her back? So much for covert. "He's headed west," the girl added in a whisper. "You should get a team out here."

"Did you hit your bracelet?" Alex practically screamed at her.

"No," the teen replied coolly. "I'm in the middle of downtown. I didn't want to attract attention. People could get hurt."

"Hit your bracelet right now and run," Alex instructed, the tenor of alarm in her voice even more noticeable. "Run as fast as you can."

"What?" the girl had to ask.

"El, he's hunting YOU!"

El Danvers-Luthor had a half-second to process this before a hand gripped her shoulder like a vice and spun her around. She looked up into the amber-goggled face of the man she knew to be Dr. David Connor, but the voice that spoke could not have been his. It was not human.

"Subject acquired," a nearly electronic rasp came out of the man's mouth.

El glanced up the street. The phone call had made her miss the crosswalk. Even now the red hand was flashing. She suddenly knocked the man's arm away and took off into the street as the "no walk" signal turned solid and cars began moving. She leapt passed the honking hoods, darting for the opposite side.

_Bracelet. Bracelet. Bracelet._ She screamed in her head, smashing the jewel as she hit the sidewalk and kept running. She didn't bother checking behind her, it would only slow her down. She did hear screams, though, as her pursuer pushed people out of the way. She cut across the street again, in the middle of the block this time, weaving through traffic, ducking behind a truck as she changed direction.

Alex would have called Jeju by now and thrown together every available team they had. They would be on their way, she just had to put some distance between her and him. They didn't know what the range on whatever scanning device he had was, but it couldn't be too far. She could disappear into the crowd, duck into a building. She'd be fine as long as he couldn't-

There was a gasp behind her and several shouts. Enough that the teen finally ventured a gaze over her shoulder. She froze in her steps as she saw the figure rise above the street.

дерьмо, she thought. He can fly.

She took off again before the amber gaze found her once more, but she knew she was rapidly running out of time. She pushed forward, reaching the end of the next block. If she could just round the corner.

There was a whoosh over her head, and the man in the ratty coat landed on the sidewalk in front of her, cracking the pavement. People leapt back from the impact. El skidded to a stop a few paces before him.

His head tilted slightly, and there was that grainy voice again. "Scanning."

El froze. A line shifted back and forth through the amber. Then, suddenly, the whole thing shifted to a darker shade.

"Impurity," he rasped. His eyes began to glow. He reached towards the girl.

El ducked and took off, heedless of the traffic and people. She had to move, had to buy whatever precious seconds she could. The word bounced around in her mind, briefly. She wondered what 'impure' could have meant but shoved it aside. Later. Focus on not dying.

She burst through the door of the far building, running through the lobby, taking a turn and heading at a right angle out the far side exit. If he didn't have a line of sight, she figured. It wasn't much, but it was all she had. She tore out of the building into a park, trees and a half-a-block worth of grass situated around a fountain. She kept moving.

Jeju would find her she reminded herself, glancing down at her bracelet for reassurance. That's when it occurred to her. The bracelet let out an ultrasonic signal that Jeju could track. If the man hunting her had Kryptonian abilities, what's to say he couldn't hear it too?

The sidewalk exploded next to her as Connor made his landing. El couldn't react before a hand struck her shoulder roughly and pitched her across the park. She landed in the fountain.

El gasped as she jerked her head up from the water. Her entire body hurt, but adrenaline forced her to her feet. _Run, run, run_ , sounding in her head. But it was pointless.

A hand grabbed her hard, spun her body, and hauled her into the air. She stared up into that amber visage. Dr. Connor, or what had been, hovered just above the water. He lifted El to eye level.

"Impurity must be eradicated," he rasped.

The girl struggled feebly. The grip was iron hard. No self-defense move could rend her out of it. In desperation, she thought back to her training with Alex, their testing. She had wanted danger. If there was ever a time for latent genetics to kick in, it was now. El balled her fist and swung.

So that was a 'no' on danger sense. That was a 'no' on super powers of any kind. El cried out as her hand lightninged with pain. The man simply looked back at her, soulless eyes behind those amber goggles.

"Weakness must be eradicated," he said. His eyes began to glow.

El stared at her death.

Somewhere, in the distance, there was a boom. The man's eyes dimmed. He turned towards the sound. El followed his gaze. There was something in the sky, moving incredibly fast towards them. Too fast for a bird, or a plane.

El struggled again, but the man simply dropped her. The girl landed in the fountain. She turned and began to scramble away, as the sound got nearer and nearer. Finally, with a last glance back, she dove down and covered her head.

The blast of the collision nearly threw El out of the pool. Water splashed over her and her ears rang from the shockwave. When she finally collected herself enough, she looked and saw Connor floating in the air a block away, and Jeju between him and El. The amber-faced man seemed to read the situation, his eyes glowing briefly. Then he turned and jetted away.

Jeju spun quickly around, catching sight of the girl. She looked like she might rush to her side, when a voice called out to El's right.

"We've got her!" The girl turned to see her Aunt rushing towards her, flanked by DEO agents on all sides. The woman looked up at her sister. "Go! Chase him down!"

Jeju nodded then jetted off after the man. El watched her go. Now, suddenly out of danger, her mind reeled, searching for something to hold onto. She tried to focus on breathing, only to discover she couldn't even do that.

El wheezed, on the edge of hyperventilation, as her Aunt leapt into the fountain by her side. She wrapped her arms around the girl and held her tight.

"We've got," she said. "It's okay. You're safe. We've got you."

El tried to listen, tried to find her breath again. Everything was blurry. The only sound her heart pounding in her ears. And somewhere, deep inside her, a single word ready to bubble forth the moment she was calm enough to hear it. It pulsed like her injured fist.

Weak.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the attack thwarted, it's time to get to the bottom of their hybrid hunter.  
> What is the Eradicator? Why does it want El? And what hope do they have to stop him?

The nurse flicked the penlight in and out of El's vision. The light was bright, almost painful, but the girl barely flinched, her arms gripping the edge of the examination table. Satisfied the teen didn't have a concussion, the nurse gave her a wary smile before turning to a nearby tray. She set the penlight aside and picked up the girl's glasses. The nurse handed them to El, who took them, quickly positioning them on her face before going back to gripping the table. It was the only thing keeping her hands, her whole body, from shaking.

The nurse stepped out, exchanging a few, quiet words with another, who stepped into the room a moment later. Alex looked over her niece with a mixture of concern and seriousness. When she spoke it was low but stern.

"Please," she said. "For the love of God, tell me you did not go looking for that man."

El shook her head immediately. She hadn't said a word since they'd pulled her out of the fountain. The girl wasn't sure, if she opened her mouth, she'd be able to do anything but scream.

"El," Alex said, again stern.

"I swear," the girl finally spoke, her eyes suddenly fixed on her Aunt. The words tumbled out quickly, desperately. "The car dropped me off a few blocks away from L-Corp. I was walking to Noonan's to get a cocoa for me and a latte for Mom. I swear. I swear," she repeated. Her voice cracked. Her face was a hair away from following.

Alex wrapped her up quickly in a strong hug. "Hey," she whispered. "Hey. You're okay, kiddo. You're safe."

El went from gripping the table to her Aunt's uniform, desperate for something to hold her down before she flew apart. Her mind was a whirlwind. So many questions, and an answer too, spinning in the tempest. One that hurt worse that 'normal' ever could.

There was a small commotion outside. Neither Alex nor El had to guess what, or who, it involved. No doubt, some poor, totally unprepared, DEO agent had come face-to-face with the consequences of standing between Lena Luthor and her daughter, even accidentally. A single shouted "WHERE?" rendered the halls of the building silent. A moment later, determined heels clicked into the room.

El looked up to her mother, in full business attire, ever the picture of a woman who could take on the world, and had, yet her face said she was as ready to break down as her daughter. Lena brushed past Alex, who didn't even bother talking, only stepped out of the way, as the dark-haired woman grasped her little girl tight and refused to let go.

El finally broke. She buried her face in her mother's shoulder and cried and cried. Out of fear, out of desperation, out of sheer, bloody terror. She felt her mother's own hot tears against her cheek. The woman gripped her tighter. A few minutes passed. Then, at last, Lena raised her head, arms still firmly around the girl. She turned to Alex.

"She's okay," the DEO chief said. "A few scrapes and bruises, but nothing major."

El's hand pulsed in response, reminding her of all the levels of pain she was feeling. She held on to her Mom.

"Did you know?" was all Lena asked in reply. The implication abundantly cleared.

El heard her Aunt sigh. "We only just figured it out. I'll explain more when Kara gets back." Alex laid a hand on El's shoulder. "Let's get you two somewhere more comfortable to wait." The girl looked up to a brittle smile. "I'll have an agent make a run to Noonan's."

They let them have the break room to themselves, Lena laid back in a comfy chair with her daughter curled onto her lap. She stroked the girl's hair, laying an occasional kiss to her forehead. El tried to fold herself further into her mother's warmth and safety. Her cocoa grew cold on the table beside them.

Sometime later, Mom's hand stroking her hair stopped. El looked up, out the windows of the room that opened into the entry hall to the Hub. Superwoman was there. She strode in and paused as Director Danvers approached her. The women exchanged a few words. Alex nodded and motioned to an agent. She turned back to Superwoman. They continued talking, Jeju's hands tapping nervously at her sides. Finally, the Super raised a finger, pausing Alex. Jeju then turned and punched the wall nearest her, leaving a noticeable crater in the concrete.

El felt Lena hold her tighter. They didn't have to ask.

He'd gotten away.

* * *

"Our inquiry into Dr. Connor's work, of course, produced little in the way of actionable information," Querl said.

They were still in the break room, Brainy using the available monitor to go over what they knew. Mom was pacing. El sat on the chair, a tablet in her hands. They hadn't seen a point in keeping the girl out of the loop any longer.

"My more surreptitious search their of systems, luckily, did," the Coluan continued. He clicked his own tablet and the monitor changed to a view of a project file, a STAR Labs logo visible at the top. "Dr. Connor was indeed engaged in nanotechnological work, specifically with this device." An image opened on the screen of a sphere with a rough, metallic shell, scoured and blackened.

Mom stared closely at it. Symbols covered its surface. "That looks Kryptonian."

"Correct," said Querl. "The artifact is of Kryptonian origin. In fact-"

"How did STAR Labs get their hands on it?" Lena quickly asked, momentarily cutting Brainy off.

"We're still looking into that," Alex added. She motioned to the screen. "Once we knew it was Kryptonian, we figured it must be the source of Dr. Connor's abilities, so we narrowed our search to Kryptonian history."

"That's why I took so long to respond to El's signal," Kara said, glancing over at her daughter guiltily. The girl didn't look up, eyes fixed on her tablet, reading ahead, desperate to figure out who was hunting her and why. "I was at the Fortress, searching the archives to try and see what this was."

"What did you find out?" Mom asked.

Jeju sighed worriedly. "It's a sort of nanotech computer, made long ago on Krypton, called the Eradicator."

Mom visibly shivered. "So it is a Worldkiller."

"More like a prototype," Jeju went on. "It was designed to maintain the..." And here the woman sighed again, more guiltily. "Purity of the Kryptonian genome. There was a feeling, even during my time, that Krypton's continued peaceful interaction with other worlds would invite cross-breeding. The Eradicator was meant to weed out genetic... inferiority."

At the word, El could feel the room try very hard not to look at her. She kept her eyes on the screen.

"Any particular reason they never used it?" Mom asked pointedly. "Besides it being morally reprehensible?"

"They apparently never got it to work," Jeju said. "According to the archives, the project was discontinued and the device was put into storage, in Fort Rozz."

Lena nodded. "Well, that explains how it got here."

"We believe the Eradicator module became detached from Fort Rozz sometime after Supergirl jettisoned it towards the Sun," Querl inserted. "It's likely been circling Earth in a slowly decaying orbit until it eventually reentered the atmosphere."

"Where STAR picked it up," Lena completed the thought. "Then Dr. Connor opens it, and it, what, infects him?"

"More or less," Brainy said, a little nonchalantly. "The Eradicator matrix seems highly adaptive. It took control of Dr. Connor's body likely as the most sure means to fulfill it's primary function."

"Which its creators never bothered to fully define, did they?" Lena snapped at no one in particular. She paced angrily for a moment, then breathed. She put on her scientist persona. "So it infused Dr. Connor with its nanotech, altering his body chemistry so he has Kryptonian powers and, apparently, the ability to do a full genetic scan of an individual simply by sight."

"Indeed," said Querl. "It's probable the Eradicator has visual access to the complete electromagnetic spectrum, not simply X-ray."

"And it goes around looking for genetic anomalies," Mom said. She paused. "It's using Dr. Connor as a template to configure its scanners against a human genome. That's what it's been doing this whole time, calibrating." She stopped and spun to Alex. "Looking for Kryptonian DNA."

"Kryptonian hybrids," Alex said with a nod.

Here they did look at the girl. El, still, did not look up. She had already figured it out, what they were still working through. The teen white-knuckled the tablet.

"Once we knew what its target was, obviously we we’re going to grab El and get her to safety,” Alex continued with a sigh of her own. "He found her first."

The room grew quiet with the realization. They had wondered who their hybrid hunter was looking for. Turned out it had been the girl this whole time. Mom shook her head.

"This doesn't make any sense," she said. "Why El?"

Alex looked back at her with confusion. "Lena, she's the only Kryptonian hybrid in the city."

"But not the only one on the planet," countered the dark-haired woman. "This thing started in Metropolis. That's where STAR Labs was working on it. The first attacks were there." She looked between them all. "Why didn't it go after Jonathan?"

Querl tilted his head in thought. "The Eradicator has appeared to be growing in strength upon subsequent encounters. It's possible it wasn't yet strong enough to face Superboy, or Superman for that matter."

"So it travels across the country and just happens to land in the only other city with a hybrid?" Mom shook her head at that. "No, somehow, this device can detect Kryptonian DNA from incredible distance, otherwise it could not have known El was here at all. If that's the case, then it should have known there was a hybrid in Metropolis. Why wouldn't it have gone for Jonathan first?"

"Clark never mentioned crossing paths with this guy," Jeju offered. "I thought Jonathan would remember tussling with someone that strong, but, who knows, maybe it scanned him without his knowing."

"Then why didn't it attack him?" Lena asked, and there was a fury behind the question, and the understood implication of 'why my daughter?'

El, however, had already put that together. She let the tablet clatter to the floor. The room turned immediately to her.

"It wouldn't have gone after Jonathan," she said, her voice quiet, weak.

"Why do you say that, little one?" Jeju asked.

"Because we're not the same," the teen replied flatly.

"El, you have just as many Kryptonian genes as he does," said Mom, and it was meant to be logical, consoling even, but the girl had to laugh, even as tears streamed down her face.

“That doesn’t make a difference," she said. She looked around the room, wondering how it all could be so clear to her and so opaque to everyone else. She slapped her hand against her chest. "Weak," she wheezed. "That's what he called me. 'Weakness must be eradicated.' That's what he said."

Her parents stared back. "El, why-" her Mom started.

"BECAUSE JONATHAN HAS POWERS!" she screamed, not bothering to let her ask the question. It had already been answered.

The Eradicator was looking for impurities, but how do you define that? What makes a pure Kryptonian? It's creators had never figured that out, so it was left up to the machine, so it had looked at Kryptonians on Earth, at all they were capable of, and made the completely natural presumption that Kryptonians were meant to be strong, and anyone that wasn't deserved to be eradicated.

And that was that. It didn't matter what her parents said. It didn't matter what El thought. It didn't matter if she made peace with who she was. An alien eugenics nightmare had put her on the kill list.

Mom stared at her, unsure how to console her daughter in this instance. She looked to her wife, who was just as much at a loss. Finally, Lena crossed her arms and turned to Alex.

"How do we stop him?"

"For the time being, it would be best if we kept El here," the DEO director replied. "At least until we figure out how he’s tracking her."

"Can we figure out a way to block his detecting her entirely?" Lena asked.

"I am working on that," Querl replied. "Although there might be a simpler solution." The room turned to the Coluan, who motioned to the girl. "If El's theory is correct and the Eradicator has targeted her because her Kryptonian DNA is unexpressed, then it is logical he would cease his pursuit should we find a way to express it."

"Is that possible?" Jeju asked.

El's eyes darted to Alex. Lena caught that and bounced back and forth between them. "What? What?" she asked hurriedly.

Alex breathed. "El and discussed something similar back when we were testing her for powers."

"You what?" Lena yelled.

Alex threw up her hands. "I nixed the idea before it even came out of her mouth."

"I should hope you did!" The dark-haired woman was furious.

"Still the science is sound," added Querl.

Lena turned on him immediately. "I know it is, and I don't give a damn!" she said. "I'm not rewriting my daughter's DNA so some speciest, Worldkiller factory reject can decide she's worthy enough to be called Kryptonian! That is not happening!" She spun to Alex. "You will find this thing and Kara will bring him in, or, so help me Rao, I will do it myself!" She breathed heavily. She turned at last to her daughter, calmer. "We are not going to play his game, baby. We are not."

There was a level of righteous fury that, somehow, only Lena Luthor could reach. Jeju fought gods because she could. Mom would stand up to them simply because they told her she couldn't. She would change the world with her bare hands if thought it was the right thing to do. She had before. And El so desperately wanted to believe her. But all the girl could see was a word taking up her whole vision, as if written in fiery letters.

Impure.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What do you do when all seems lost? Turn to family.  
> And this one fights.

The conversation quickly turned to where to go from here regarding their hunt for the Eradicator. Jeju and Alex discussed possible avenues to locate him, while Lena talked means of blocking his scanning for El with Querl, who was somewhat intimidated after the previous outburst. El sat, curled into the chair, until they finally noticed her again. Alex mentioned they'd prepared a rooms for the girl and maybe they could find her something to eat. El didn't argue with their soft attempts to usher her away. She didn't have the strength to.

A DEO agent escorted El down to the guest quarters. The room was windowless and sparse though not uncomfortable, but not home either. They had set out a change of clothes to sleep in, and someone had apparently made a run to Big Belly Burger. The grease-stained sack sat on the room's single table. The girl didn't eat. She didn't feel like it. Instead, she changed, pulling on the DEO-issued shirt and shorts, shut off the lights, and crawled onto the bed, not even bothering with the covers.

She didn't sleep.

Somewhere, out there, was an alien being who's sole mission was to kill her. It was as strong and as fast as Superwoman, and it was looking for El specifically. It had crossed the entire country just to find her. And, now, the only thing standing in its way were thick walls, the entire DEO, the smartest people on the planet, and Jeju herself. She might have felt safe if she didn't feel so trapped.

It was too much. They had gone right past unfair to something she didn't have the word for, only that 'wrong' felt inadequate. It was all simply too much for the teen who felt she had only just gotten to a place of acceptance in who she was and what she could bring to the world. Now someone was going to kill her over it, and she had no means to fight him.

The door to the room suddenly opened. The girl sat up, only now noticing the tears that dampened her face. Two figures stood silhouetted against the light. They stared at the girl. Even in the darkness, the teen could see they were just as much at their wit's end as she was; they were just as unsure what to say. El looked back at the strongest people she knew and burst into tears. Sobs wracked her body as she crumpled under the weight of simply everything.

The door closed, shutting out the light once more. El felt her parents step around the bed, then climb in, one on either side of her. Mom and Jeju hugged their daughter close between them, wrapping their arms around her. They held on as El cried herself to sleep. Their embrace was warm and soft, just as always. She was safe.

For now.

* * *

El awoke to the tender blanket of her mothers' presence. The teen had no idea how long she had slept but felt the bone deep exhaustion from the night before and knew it had probably been a considerable amount of time. Still, she had no energy or desire to move any time soon. Thankfully, her parents didn't seem to be surprised or disappointed in that and only continued to hold her softly as the day drifted on.

Eventually, there was a soft knock at the door. Alex opened it with an apologetic look. There were no words. Jeju only looked down at the girl. El nodded. Superwoman was needed.

Kara kissed her daughter on top of her head and slid out of bed. El curled around into Mom's embrace while Jeju planted a kiss on her cheek as well before she left. They stayed like that for some time. Finally, the girl was able to speak.

"Do you have to go into work?" she asked, her voice barely a whimper.

"I'm not going anywhere, sweetie," the woman responded without a moment's hesitation.

"You don't... if you need..." El tried, unable to fully squelch the sense of guilt and duty that was equal parts Luthor and Danvers in her.

In answer, Lena pressed a kiss to her hair and stroked a hand over the girl's back. "It's a billion-dollar company, Ellie," she whispered. "It can do without me for a while." El curled deeper into her chest, sniffling slightly. "I've got you, baby," Mom said, her voice resonating into the girl. "I promise I won't let go."

And she didn't, and the girl was so very grateful for it.

* * *

Some hours later, El’s head lay on her mom’s lap on the bed while the dark-haired woman worked through something on her tablet. They hadn’t heard much from upstairs other than a few people popping their heads in, which could be good or bad but mostly meant everyone was working hard. Still, the teenager had been stuck in this room for nearly 24 hours and was not looking forward to the prospect of not being able to leave. She snuggled into her mother’s lap. Lena ran a hand through the girl’s short hair.

“What are you working on?” El asked.

Mom peered down from her tablet. “Just looking through the file’s Jeju got from the Fortress on our… new friend.” No one had quite been comfortable to say the name of the new menace to National City, and, with a name like ‘The Eradicator’, who could blame them. Especially considering who he was trying to eradicate.

“Can I help?” asked the teen.

“Just rest, sweetie,” Lena replied almost automatically.

“I need to do something,” her daughter said.

The woman looked down at the girl and could tell this was from more than a desire to feel useful. Still, she hesitated.

“It’s in Kryptonian, Ellie.”

“ _Khuhp molir kryptahniuo,_ Mom,” El replied fluidly.

The woman gave a defeated chuckle. She grabbed another tablet sitting on the table by the bed, tapped out a command, and handed it to the teen. El turned it over to see the DEO mainframe pulled up.

“This is what it looks like when you have permission,” Mom added slyly.

El smiled then turned in earnest to the files. There was a lot. It was, indeed, in Kryptonian, but that wasn’t the hardest thing about it. Kryptonian filing was an art in itself. Archives could be accessed in a number of different ways, and you had to give it to the Children of Rao, they knew how to cross-section, but you really had to know what you were looking for if you wanted to make any headway. It was the main reason holographic simulacra were the preference for Kryptonian interfaces. Why thumb the index yourself when you can just ask an A.I. version of your grandmother to find the information for you? It was also the reason they had yet to fully integrate the Fortress archive with the DEO systems. You just couldn’t get the two to talk the same. Luckily, El had been raised on this stuff, being quite familiar with earthbound and alien computers from an early age.

The challenge lay in sifting through all the information and separating out what they actually needed. The files were extensive, data about the initial development of nanotechnology, a myriad of other related projects and false starts, even minutes from debates in the Science Guild about the project itself. Disappointingly, most of that involved how best to define a “true” Kryptonian and not what the hell gave them the right to define that anyhow. More disappointingly, nowhere in the files on the Eradicator was there any mention, under a nice, neat heading, of an ‘off button’. They were dealing with something that could think for itself, something that was never meant to be used, something its creators had never bothered to problem solve possible scenarios for.

That meant it was up to them, the DEO, Brainy, Alex, Jeju, Mom, and El. And where Kryptonian society was split on the ethical nature of the device, everyone in this building was singularly focused on stopping it. None more than the girl it had targeted. As far as El was concerned, that gave them an advantage.

Thus it was only a matter of time, a few hours in fact, before the girl turned to her mother, now seated beside her on the bed, and showed her what she had been working on. Lena looked over the screen, her eyes flitting through the information. She grabbed El’s hand and squeezed. She smiled.

* * *

“So, what have you got?” Alex asked a minute after her sister-in-law and niece waltzed into the Hub with their breakthrough. Superwoman had been patrolling for hours with no luck. They were no closer to finding the Eradicator. It hadn’t been hard to get the director’s attention.

"We think we know how it’s tracking El,” Lena said. She flicked her tablet and a window full of Kryptonian writing appeared on the monitor. “The Fortress archives were less than clear on how the Eradicator matrix was meant to be deployed.”

“They never ended up using it,” Alex commented.

“True,” Lena replied. “But they did want it to be able to detect eccentricities within the entire population, and they, rightfully, assumed some people might be resistant to submitting themselves to genetic analysis to determine ‘purity’. So they designed the matrix with the ability to sense them remotely.”

“How?” Alex asked.

“Genetic harmonic resonance,” said El.

Querl seemed particularly fascinated by that string of words. Alex wrinkled her brow. It wasn’t too often these days that she got to really reflex her bioengineering muscles.

“You’re saying, it can actually feel Kryptonian DNA?” she finally asked.

Lena nodded. “That’s how he was able to know there was a hybrid in National City from across the country.”

“We think it must work like a compass,” El added. “It points him in the right direction but doesn’t give an exact location.”

“He has to switch to his scanner,” Alex said with a nod.

“Exactly,” Lena agreed. “Which is more exact but has a shorter range.”

“But, if he’s able to directionally detect El at extreme range,” Querl responded. “Then he could very well locate her here. The DEO might not provide sufficient cover. Unless we can find a way to disrupt the genetic resonance.”

El and her Mom exchanged a glance. They smiled.

“We already thought of that,” the dark-haired woman said.

“Really?” replied Brainy. “I’m quite curious to hear.”

“Well, how do you stop a compass?” Lena asked.

El held up her wrist. Next to her bracelet was a black band with a small box about the size of a watch attached to it. “With a magnet,” the teen added with a smile.

“We made a pit stop at the lab before coming up here,” Lena continued. “It’s a sort of rewired version of my alien detector. It should scatter El’s genetic signature and prevent the Eradicator from homing in on her.”

“Now he can’t find me,” the girl said gladly.

“I’m glad,” Alex said, though she was quick to add, “That still doesn’t mean it’s safe for you to go roaming around the city freely.”

Lena laid a hand on her daughter’s shoulder. “We’ve already discussed that. El is will be sticking with me for the time being.”

El nodded. “But at least I can go home.”

Alex smiled sympathetically. “Good work, Lena.”

“You can thank El for the insight,” the woman replied with a smile to her daughter.

“All right,” Alex said, turning back to the monitor. “We can stop him from finding you, but we still need to find him.”

“We had an idea about that, too,” the teen said. She clicked her tablet and the screen changed to several shots of the Eradicator’s fight with Superwoman. “I was thinking how Dr. Connor got his powers.”

“The Eradicator matrix,” Querl answered.

“Yes, but why?” El asked. “There’s nothing in the archive that suggests it was designed to do that.”

“The matrix is highly adaptive,” Brainy suggested. “Perhaps it’s a defense mechanism.”

El nodded but held up a finger to the Coluan. “I think it’s more than that.” She pointed to the screen, to the Eradicator with its heat vision. “I believe it’s emulating Kryptonian abilities. It figured out how Kryptonian genetics reacts to yellow sun radiation and refitted its host to have the same capabilities.”

“It took Supers as its ideal and made itself in their image,” Alex commented.

“Precisely,” said Lena. “Only Dr. Connor is not Kryptonian.”

Alex understood. “No experiment has ever been able to grant a human a Super’s abilities for long.”

“So, the Eradicator must me making up the difference,” El continued. “Infusing Dr. Connor’s cells with its own tech to allow them to function in a similar way to Kryptonian cells.”

“Absorbing yellow solar radiation,” said her Aunt.

“But human cells don’t store solar energy the same way as a Kryptonian’s,” added Lena. “So the Eradicator must be acting as conduit and capacitor.”

Querl stepped in. “That’s why the Eradicator has never engaged in a prolonged battle.”

“Brainy?” Alex asked.

The Coluan turned to her with his usual look of excited curiosity. “Kryptonian cells can retain and expend solar radiation very efficiently, but an artificial storage device would not have the same efficacy, especially within a human body. The Eradicator can emulate Kryptonian powers only for a limited time.”

“It runs out the battery,” Alex translated. “It has to go recharge.”

Querl nodded. “Especially if he expends his energy on such taxing abilities as flight and heat vision.” He stopped and stood in thought for a moment. “But, if the Eradicator is storing the energy, it would not be limited to solar. It could, in theory, draw from other sources.”

“And that’s how we find it,” Lena said. “We haven’t developed a means of tracking it because its energy signature isn’t fully Kryptonian.”

“But we shouldn’t be looking for it,” El added. “We should be looking for large, unaccounted-for taps on the power grid.”

“Electricity,” Alex said with a nod. “That’s how it recharges. It just plugs in for a few hours.” She turned to Brainy. “Querl, get in contact with National City Water and Power. I want to track the city’s entire power grid.”

“Of course,” the Coluan replied.

“The sooner we find it the better,” El said.

“I know, kiddo,” Alex replied.

“No,” Querl said suddenly, catching eyes with the girl as he, too, worked it out. “It’s more than that. The Eradicator might not be as efficient as a Kryptonian, but it could conceivably have a greater storage capacity than their cells, especially if it’s drawing on non-solar sources. Moreover, it would not be limited in how fast it could expend the energy.”

“Meaning?” Alex asked.

“Meaning, if we let it charge too long,” Lena said, her voice quite serious. “The next time we face this thing, it could be stronger than Superwoman.”


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Home, safe, sound. With worries about the future, El looks to the strongest woman she knows, the one without a cape.
> 
> Short chapter because the next one's longer, and then... Oh, things are coming.

They let Mom take El home, finally, after many, many tests on their gene resonance scattering device. As far as anyone could tell, (and they were fairly intelligent people), it seemed to be working. The teen was by no means out of the woods, though. The Eradicator could still pick her up with a genetic scan, so it was real house arrest this time, but at least she got to go home.

They spoke with Jeju briefly. She was relieved but mentioned they should go home without her. It was clear she would not be resting until this guy was found. When they got home, Mom hit a button on the wall panel and the privacy shades dropped into place on all the windows.

"Just as a precaution," she said.

El nodded. She understood, but it was still a little ominous.

With Jeju out patrolling, for the rest of the night for all they knew, Lena invited her daughter to sleep in her room. It had been a long time since that had happened. Well, not really. It had happened last night. But this was different. Sleeping in her parents' bed, like she had when she was little, frightened by some imagined monster. Now, she was bigger, but the monster was real, and maybe she and Mom could both use the company.

They settled under the sheets. After a minute, Lena reached a hand over to stroke her daughter's hair gently.

"What are you thinking about?" she asked the girl.

El shrugged. "Just trying to figure out how I'm going to occupy myself if I'm stuck here all day."

Lena returned a brittle smile. "You know, sometimes I wonder if you're too much like me," she said.

El stared back questioningly.

"Deflection has always been my go-to coping mechanism," the dark-haired woman added.

El smirked then softened. "I know Jeju will find him."

"We all will," Mom assured her. She laid her hand against El's cheek. "We're not losing you, baby girl. That Eradicator comes in here, he'll have to pry you out of my arms."

El laid her own hand against her mother's, letting the warmth, the strength bleed into her. Lena stroked her thumb against her face.

"I was just thinking," she said. "How so very strange it is that all this is happening at the same time. Senior year, the Eradicator, you and your Aunt's experiments."

El looked down. The hand moved to her chin, lifting her gaze back to Mom's. Green eyes, tinged with tears, looked back at her.

"You know I wouldn't trade your Jeju for anything."

El nodded. She knew. Rao, did she know.

"But there are days," Lena added. "When I almost wish that we all weren't so extraordinary. That your life wasn't filled with all of this." She brushed the girl's hairline. "The only thing that really saves me is knowing that Kara feels the exact same way." She shook her head sadly. When she spoke the tears were unmistakeable in her voice. "Ellie, I really wish that the biggest problem we were facing right now was where you were going to go to college."

El sighed. She couldn't deny, for all of her desire for more, for something that felt so tantalizingly close, that a part of her felt the same way. She didn't hate her life, but here, in this bed, noticeably absent of an important occupant, she did have to wonder what her life would be like if Jeju weren't Superwoman, weren't alien, maybe even if Mom weren't Lena Luthor. Would she be safer? Would life be better? Or would it be terribly uninteresting? Would she feel half of what she felt not knowing what else she could be, not having any other options?

But then she looked at her mother and El remembered. She remembered Jeju was out there right now, hellbent on making sure no one laid a hand on her daughter. She remembered endless pancake breakfasts and nights on the couch, passing popcorn between them, and debating plots of old movies. She remembered being picked up from school when she was younger, how there had been a period when she had just started kindergarten that her mothers had actually argued over who **got** to pick her up, how each had insisted the other was too busy, their job too important, how they had rearranged meetings and appointments to ensure they were there right at the end of school, and on some days, after a bit of miscommunication, they had both shown up. El had loved those days. Her moms were both so astonished at their own silliness that they had simply laughed and kissed and, more often than not, blown the rest of the afternoon off and taken El to the park.

When you took all of that, how could the girl trade her life for anything ordinary? Her life was extraordinary. Extraordinary and wonderful.

El scooted forward, wrapping her arms around Mom's middle. She laid her head against her chest.

"I love you, Mom," the girl said with a heavy, teary sigh.

Lena encircled the girl, tugging her even closer. "We love you, too, Ellie baby," she said, her own voice cracking. "So so much."

They held each other tight, just breathing. El felt something press on her feet. She opened an eye to look down the bed where she spied a familiar, furry shape.

"We have an intruder," she whispered.

Her Mom's head moved. The woman let out a huff. "One night," she said. "But we're not making a habit of this."

Streaky purred softly into El's feet. Lena stared pointedly at her.

"You sleep on my head, and I will end you, kitty," Lena added.

Streaky folded his paws underneath him and loafed up quietly on El's ankles. Mom wrapped the girl up tightly once more, and they soon drifted off into a contented sleep, absent one member, but warm and safe and sound.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crises call for conversation with your psychologist Aunt.
> 
> Another brief respite before the showdown. I got such a good response from her first appearance, I decided we needed more Kelly!

“So, how’s house arrest?” Kelly asked, spinning her spoon to capture a yogurt-covered gummi bear.

It was the second full day of El’s internment. There had been no sightings of the Eradicator and just as little of Jeju except for the occasional call to assure her daughter they were still looking. El knew Superwoman wasn’t going to be coming home anytime soon. It was nice to know she was out there, but the girl couldn’t, and didn’t want to, suppress the desire to have both of her parents back. Mom had been staying with her nearly round the clock but had to go into L-Corp for a meeting that couldn’t be rescheduled, so she tapped Aunt Kelly to keep the teen company. El was grateful, especially when the woman arrived with a yogurt in each hand.

“Not bad,” El replied with a shrug. “The food’s good, but the Warden won’t let me have any yard time.”

Kelly chuckled dryly. “I’m surprised your Mom didn’t just ask for all your schoolwork. You’ve got the time, might as well get caught up.”

“She did,” El said matter-of-factly. “I’m pretty sure I’m caught up on the semester by now.”

“What I would have given for your brain in high school,” her aunt commented.

“Genius is its own kind of burden,” El said before taking another bite of yogurt.

Kelly leaned over and gently bumped shoulders with the girl, giving her a warm smile. “How are you?” she asked. “Really?”

El stared down at her cup and stabbed at a gummi bear half-heartedly.

“A lot has happened,” the woman went on. “Like a lot, and it’s completely okay to feel overwhelmed.”

El sighed. “I just feel… I don’t know, useless.” She raised a finger quickly to add, “I know I’m not. I just feel that way.”

“That’s valid,” Kelly replied. “The hardest thing to learn in life is what to do when you can’t do anything.”

El licked her spoon thoughtfully. “I just want to be done, you know? With all of it. With… I don’t even know, just all of this. The Eradicator and… Okay, mostly the Eradicator, but the jerk has brought up a lot of other stuff with him.” The teen swirled the spoon around angrily, pummeling gelatin sugar ursines in the way she wished she could to her hunter. “I just want things to go back to normal.” She huffed dryly. “Ironic, right?” she said to the woman with a raise of her eyebrow. “Normal.”

Kelly seemed to take it all in stride, the practiced psychologist. She placed a caring hand on the girl’s shoulder and rubbed it softly. The teen calmed somewhat. Some things you had to just get out, and Kelly was a really good listener. She was a professional listener, and it could be annoying when she slipped into what everyone in the family had come to refer to as her “therapist voice”, still, you couldn’t discount the fact that she almost invariably knew the right thing to say or when saying nothing was the best option.

“I know Jeju will find him,” El said again. It was still the truth, but the more time passed, the harder it was to hold on to.

“Of course she will,” Kelly added. “They all will. If I know your Aunt Alex,” she smirked, “And I like to think I do, she won’t stop either. There’s nothing that brings out the fire in the Danvers sisters like someone threatening family.”

El gave that a nod. It was the truth as well. She stared around the room, glancing at the window shutters, still down. “Let’s just hope they catch him before I go stir-crazy.”

“Well, if you’re really up for a change in scenery,” Kelly said as she also gave the room the once-over. “Maybe your moms can ship you off to Midvale.”

The spoon dropped out of El’s hand, clattering into the bowl, as she stared at her aunt. The woman quickly grasped the depth of horror painted over the girl’s face and seemed to intuit the reason for her reaction. She held up her hands reassuringly.

“No one has suggested that,” Kelly said. “I was just talking.”

El deflated marginally but still looked hurt. Kelly leaned in empathetically.

“Would it really be so bad spending a few days with your Grandma Eliza?” she had to ask. “You know you couldn’t beat the cooking, and you’d have plenty of wide-open space…”

El groaned and threw a hand to her face. “I’m not a dog, Kelly!”

In seeming recognition of the subject matter, Streaky hopped up on the table, gave the pair a quick glance, and set about grooming himself.

“Sorry,” the girl’s aunt said with a chuckle. “I didn’t mean to upset you. Though it’s clear that I have.” She tilted her head until she met the teen’s gaze. “You know, with this thing out there looking for you, that might be the safest way.” She tapped the girl’s wrist. “If that thing can block him, then hanging out in the country awhile might make it easier to catch him.”

El rubbed the genetic resonance scattering device thoughtfully. Kelly had a point, of course. This thing thought she was still in the city. Vacating was the surest way to keep it from finding her. The more distance they put between her and the Eradicator the better. Still…

El shook her head. “Please, don’t let them send me to Midvale,” she said, staring at her aunt, pleading in her eyes.

The woman looked back with a soft, questioning gaze. She laid her hand on the girl’s. “We’re just trying to keep you safe. You know that, right?”

El sighed and nodded. “I just… I know I’d be safe there, and, yeah, I’d love to just hang out with Grandma Eliza, but Midvale, sending me out there, would be long-term.” El bit her lip, suppressing the urge to cry. “Sending me out there would mean they didn’t know when I could come back.” The girl dragged the heel of her palm against her cheek. “I don’t want to go.”

Kelly intercepted the girl’s hand and clutched it tight between both of her own. She fixed the girl with a loving, yet serious gaze. “Okay,” she said. “If it ever comes up, I’ll make sure we’ve exhausted every other option, okay?”

El nodded. Kelly kissed her knuckles. They breathed for a moment before turning back to their yogurt.

“I’m gonna need a lot of therapy after this, aren’t I?” The teen commented.

“Why wait for after?” Her aunt replied with a sly grin. “Speaking of which.”

_Damn, she’s good_ , El thought.

Kelly set the spoon down again. “Alex told me about the little project she’s been running with you for the last year.”

El shivered. She had known this conversation was coming. “Kelly, I’m sorry. I asked her not to tell you. I-“

The woman held up a quick hand towards the teen. “Elmo,” she said with a warm gaze. “I’m not mad that you and your aunt have secrets. That’s fine. That’s normal. Helping someone do something she doesn’t agree with but making sure she did it safely? That’s textbook Alex Danvers.” She smiled knowingly. “I did want to talk with you about it, though, in case you needed to.”

El swirled the yogurt a bit to buy some time. “You gonna play psychologist for me right now?”

“Psychologist. Concerned, loving aunt,” the woman shrugged. “Take your pick.”

“I know it was wrong,” El admitted.

“I don’t think it was wrong.”

The girl’s eyes immediately connected with the woman’s. “You don’t?”

Kelly shook her head. “Your methods, the secrecy, may have been a little unnecessary, but, no, it wasn’t wrong. You had a question about yourself. You deserved to try and answer it.” The woman leaned forward. “Identity is the most important question we ask about ourselves, and, especially at your age, it can feel very urgent to get a solid answer down, to live up to something. I went through the same thing.”

El raised an eyebrow.

“Okay,” Kelly admitted. “Less superpowers, more emulating parental figures. My dad was in the military. I followed in his footsteps. James didn’t, but, still, he shadowed him in a way. Photography. We, both, were trying to capture an image of someone important to us, a part of us, and it was all the more serious because that person wasn’t around for us to get validation from.”

El nodded. The woman had an uncanny talent for making sense. The teen breathed. “It’s just right there, you know? Like I can see it.”

“Tantalizing,” the woman commented.

“Yeah,” said El. “I know I should be grateful. I have so much.”

“You do,” the woman said. “But it’s okay to still want things. It’s hard not to when they feel so possible.” Kelly rubbed the girl’s shoulder again. “Life is about discovering who you are, and that changes and that grows as we do, and sometimes that means making mistakes, getting bumped when we run up against the limits of ourselves. What makes all the difference is when you have a safe enough environment to experiment, knowing you’ll be accepted either way.”

El smiled at that. For all her secrets, all her hidden worries, some deep, dear part of her knew there was nothing she could that would push the people who loved her away. She wanted to fly so badly. Maybe that was because she knew there would be someone to catch her.

“If it helps,” Kelly added. “I had the same problem with Astrid.”

El looked up curiously at her. Kelly nodded.

“I thought that’s what this whole, West Point thing was about,” she said with a vein of concern in her voice. It was her turn to look away in thought now. “With my background and Alex being, well, a total badass, I thought this was Astrid’s way of proving that she belonged, that she was our daughter, even if not by blood.”

“She is,” El said. That, too, was the truth and had been from day one, when a toddler was dropped into the Danvers-Olson home and found two women who fell in love with her at first sight.

“She most definitely is,” Kelly agreed. “And I told her that. We both did. Over and over. Ultimately, though, I had to come to the realization that Astrid is going to make her own decisions, for her own reasons, and the best thing we could do, as her mothers, as people who love her unconditionally, was be there for her whatever the consequences were. If she goes career, if she washes out, no matter what. As long as she knows she is loved, that’s all that matters.”

El reached over and grabbed the woman’s hand reassuringly. “She knows,” she said. “She absolutely knows.”

“Thank you.” Kelly sighed deeply. She turned a sly eye to El. “Speaking of which,” she added. “I also get the feeling my wife may have weaseled some information about our daughter out of you.”

El bit her lip. “In her defense, I did kind of blackmail her with it.”

“Well,” the psychologist said with a short laugh. “I’ll have you know I’m not easily bought.” She turned bodily towards the girl and settled back into her chair. She looked much more motherly now, much less professional. “How’s Astrid?” she asked softly.

El turned to her as well. “She’s doing good. West Point is hard, but she knew that going in. She’s having fun, though. She likes the work, and she feels more focused that she ever has before.”

“I’m glad,” the woman said with a noticeable sigh. She breathed for a moment. “Do I want to know why she hasn’t talked to us?”

El smiled warmly. “It’s not because of you. She’s just been really busy. The first few weeks were so hectic, and she wanted so much to start off on the right foot. She even called me for pointers on note-taking and studying. She wanted to call you. She thought about it everyday, but she kept putting it off, making excuses. It was too late in the evening. One or both of you would be at work. Little things, you know?”

Kelly nodded.

“Soon enough, a week, two, three, a month had gone by. And now, she knows she should, but she just feels so guilty for waiting so long, she doesn’t know how to make up for it.”

“She doesn’t have to,” Kelly insisted.

“I told her that,” El said with a nod. “I tell her that every time. But the two of you are so important to her, and…” El had to laugh. “You’re all a little too much alike.”

Kelly’s head flopped back. She chuckled as well. “And how?” She looked back at the girl. She smiled. “I am always so impressed that your emotional intelligence manages to rival your intellectual intelligence, Elmo.”

The teen shrugged. “I have good examples.”

Kelly sighed again. “So, what’s your recommendation?”

El tilted her head. “I’ll tell you what I told Alex, but I’m pretty sure she hasn’t gotten around to it because of this whole Eradicator thing.” She leaned towards the woman. “Just text her. Nothing passive aggressive like, ’Haven’t heard from you in a while’. Just tell her you love her and you miss her. Tell her a funny story about your day, something simple and low stakes. Just break the ice. That’s all it’ll take.”

Kelly nodded. “Excellent suggestion,” she said. “You might have a future in psychology.”

El smiled and suppressed the urge to ask what she thought the medical program at NCU might be like. That idea, too, seemed far off, on the other side of whatever lay next.

Kelly pulled out her phone, scooting her chair closer to the girl’s. She set it down between them and gave the teen a serious look. “We’re composing that text right now.”


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Showdown.  
> The Eradicator has found El. Luckily, Superwoman finds him.  
> But will any of them be strong enough to win this fight?

El worked through the last bit of the equation, circling the answer and submitting it. She watched the program pop up a banner that read “SUCCESS” right before it loaded another problem. The girl sighed and let the tablet drop gently to rest on her face.

“Surely you can’t be that bored,” Mom called from behind her desk.

“You want to throw a couple of Millennium Problems at me, just for fun?” the girl said with a groan. “Because I’m pretty sure I’ve exhausted the sum total of human knowledge.”

“I seriously doubt that,” Lena chided humorously.

“Hey,” the girl replied, pointing an accusatory finger blindly in the dark-haired woman’s direction. “You were the one who wouldn’t let me graduate early. I cannot be blamed for being so far ahead of the curriculum.”

“Well, excuse me for wanting my daughter to enjoy as much of her childhood as possible without the world forcing her to grow up too fast because she’s so gifted.”

El groaned again. The woman had a point. She knew from personal experience the burden of the prodigiously intelligent. “Did you find MIT this easy?” she had to wonder aloud.

“Oh, no,” Lena replied. “But that was less from an academic learning curve and more a how-to-maintain-functional-relationships-with-people-who-aren’t-sociopaths.”

It was day 5 of what the girl had started calling El-Watch. No sign of the Eradicator, but, thanks to Brainy, the DEO was running a complex algorithm to track sudden power drains on the grid and shut them down remotely. The idea was to drive their quarry to charge at a limited number of sights that they could then stake out, since chasing him down had so far proven fruitless. They’d find him eventually, the girl was confident of, but the more time ticked by, the more she was reminded of the prospect of him growing more powerful the next time he and Superwoman met.

Since there had been no close calls thus far, and since the teen was a hair’s breadth away from actively climbing the walls of the penthouse, Mom decided she could risk taking El to work with her. Thanks to its history of hosting assassination attempts and the occasional alien incursion, the L-Corp CEO’s office was probably the second most fortified location in the city, behind the DEO. And there was a general feeling that keeping El moving might be a good idea, for her own sanity if not for the alien computer looking for her.

The change of scenery was nice, but the girl had long since completed any homework, so, with Mom already having sent her assistant home for the day, there was nothing and no one for the teen to occupy herself with but calculus drills as they day lingered on past dusk.

Mom glanced over her computer screen at her daughter. “You know, if you’re that concerned about not being challenged at school, you might reconsider NCU.”

The girl groaned angrily in reply.

“Just saying,” Mom said. She tapped out a command on her computer. “I’ve got an email to send and then we can go.”

El breathed and dragged the tablet off her face. She stared at her mother. She felt like asking the obvious question, though the answer felt equally clear. “Do you think Jeju will be able to join us for dinner?”

The typing paused as Lena’s face fell slightly. “I don’t think so, sweetie.”

Her eyes connected with the girl’s. El gave a slight nod. She understood. She just wasn’t happy about it. Lena finished her work and sent her email. The woman rose from her desk and padded over to where her daughter was stretched out on the couch. She slid in and settled El’s head so it was resting on her lap.

“I know you’re worried,” she said, carding her fingers through the girl’s dark locks. “We all are. Your Jeju wants to be here, but she wants you to be safe, too.”

El nodded, then shrugged. “I guess I’m selfish,” she said, to the woman’s furrowed brow. “I want both of you around.”

Lena smiled. “You’ll have more of us than you can handle soon enough. I promise.” She rubbed the girl’s cheek lovingly. The smile faded a degree. “I talked with your Aunt Kelly.”

El shifted her shoulders nervously.

“You know,” Mom went on. “We would never send you away unless it was our absolute last resort.”

El could see the seriousness in the woman’s eyes. She nodded.

“Your safety is our number 1 priority right now,” Lena added. “More than anything, more than our own.” She twisted a finger in the girl’s hair, curling it around and around before letting it spring back against her scalp. “You know, as much as I want you to consider other colleges, and I do, I’ll admit there is a part of me that would not mind one bit if you went to NCU, because then you could stay in town, and we could make sure you’re okay all the time, and I could keep you.” She gave the girl a tearful smile. “I don’t want you to go, baby, but part of being a good parent is knowing when to push your kids out of the nest.” Her mouth opened slightly. Lena grimaced and threw her head back, her hand flying to her face. “Why do I keep picking birds?”

El grabbed her mother’s hand and held it against her cheek. She stared up at Lena, tears in her own eyes. “Please, don’t make me go,” she sniffled as she reached up to touch the woman’s cheek with her own hand.

Lena held her daughter’s hand against her cheek. She turned and kissed the girl’s palm. “I can’t promise that it won’t come to it, Ellie,” she said sadly. “I don’t know what’s going to happen, but I will promise you, if it does, if that is the only way to keep you safe, I’ll go with you.”

“Really?”

Mom nodded. “Yeah,” she said. “After the last few weeks, I could probably use some Midvale time myself. We don’t get out there enough.”

“We should go,” El suggested. “All of us. After this is over.”

Lena leaned down to plant a kiss on the teen’s forehead. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

They smiled together. A welcome moment. Reality chimed in on the woman’s phone.

“Hey, Alex,” Lena said as she answered the video call. “Any news?”

“Nothing yet,” the DEO director replied. “But we think we’re closing in. I wanted to call because Querl had a thought that we may not have considered. About El.”

The girl couldn’t help but stiffen at her aunt’s tone. There was something manifestly unfortunate about it.

“What is it?” Lena asked, a vein of worry in her own voice.

“He pointed out that if the Eradicator really is powering up for his next encounter with Superwoman, then physical strength might not be the only advantage he gains.”

“It could supercharge his other abilities,” Mom replied with a nod.

“Yeah,” said Alex. She sighed. “Including his genetic scanner. Querl thinks he might have an increased range.”

El let her head flop back against her Mom’s lap. She felt the woman run a consoling hand against her scalp.

“We think it’d be better if El was somewhere shielded,” Alex added.

Lena nodded again. “We’re on our way.”

“See you soon,” said the DEO director before the call ended.

Mom’s eyes connected with El’s. “I have to go back to the DEO, don’t I?”

“I’m sorry, baby.”

The girl nodded, nonetheless. She was smart enough to see the logic and not a little ashamed they hadn’t considered it sooner. If the Eradicator could overcharge his powers, why shouldn’t that also affect his ability to detect her? For all they knew that was his primary reason for powering up at all, now that he had confirmed his target. And, just like that, Midvale, too, was out as an option. If he could scan her remotely, there was no guarantee he wouldn’t find her there, and no one would ever put Grandma Eliza at risk like that.

With a disappointed sigh, El rolled off the couch and began gathering her things. Mom grabbed her briefcase and stepped to the far end of the office to get their coats. As the teen was putting away her tablet, something beeped on her mother’s computer. She crossed around the desk and looked at the screen. A window had opened.

“Hey, Mom,” she asked. “Something popped up on your computer.”

Lena stared back. “What does it say?”

“’Proximity Alert’?”

Mom’s brow furrowed. She looked away in thought. When she turned back, her eyes suddenly went wide. “El, get away from the window!”

There was no time to react. There was no time for anything at all. El’s time was up. What happened next happened all at once.

The floor-to-ceiling glass windows of the office, which opened out onto National City, exploded as a wall of pure force, the bow wave of an object moving incredibly fast, collided with it, shattering the glass instantly. El was immediately thrown forward by the sheer energy, pitched head over heels to collide with the couch. The teen coughed against a cloud of dust. Her body pounded with pain, mostly her head. She could feel a wet, oozing spot across her forehead. When she rolled upright with a groan, she looked back, if only to confirm. She already knew who, what it was.

The being known as the Eradicator, formerly Dr. David Connor of Metropolis, stood in the ruined remains of the office balcony. The tattered scraps of a coat hung off his shoulders, more a cape now, as he floated a foot off the floor. Amber-goggled eyes surveyed the room, finding the girl instantly.

“Impurity located,” the Eradicator rasped and floated forward. “Prepare for eradication.”

When he crossed what was left of the desk, the lights of the room dimmed. The Eradicator stopped suddenly as four beams of light, each from a corner of the room, sprang forth and covered him in a dull, green glow. Connor seemed to stiffen and drop to the ground.

“You didn’t think we’d prepare for you, you son of a bitch?” came the defiant voice of Lena Luthor. She stepped forward, a control in her hand, and stared daggers at the Kryptonian menace. “You do not touch my daughter.”

The Eradicator struggled against the kryptonite force field. Black veins played across Dr. Connor’s skin then stopped. The Eradicator flexed and tilted its head up. Its amber goggles shifted in hue. The eyes glowed. He turned and blasted a line up the wall. The projectors exploded and the green light dropped.

Both El and Lena stared agape. The Eradicator had adapted to kryptonite. The machine turned towards Lena. The dark-haired woman grabbed the nearest object, a crystal decanter off the wet bar and swung. The Eradicator batted it away and grabbed the woman around the neck.

“NO!” El screamed. She scrambled to clasp a heavy, stone paperweight, a decorative objet d’art that had been thrown off the table. With righteous fury, she flung it towards Connor. The Eradicator snatched it out of the air with blinding speed. The amber goggles turned towards the girl. He dropped the stone and her mother at the same time.

“El!” Lena gasped from the floor. “Run. RUN!”

The girl scrambled back across the ground, trying to escape but unable to take her eyes off the figure now floating towards her. Lena made a mad grab for his legs, but he merely hovered out of her reach. The Eradicator loomed over the teen. His eyes glowed.

In the distance, there was a boom. El didn’t bother glancing at the window but scrambled quickly away. The Eradicator, meanwhile, spun slowly towards the balcony, where a shape in the distance was quickly growing nearer.

There was another violent explosion as Superwoman collided bodily with Conner, forcing him into the floor. When the dust settled, El saw her Jeju, knees planted into the man’s chest, with a look of utter fury in her eyes.

“No one hurts my family,” she said before laying into the eugenics computer.

The Eradicator’s head snapped to the left and right as Superwoman dropped punch after punch. Suddenly a hand shot up, intercepting Kara’s fist. The blonde hero stared at the hand. She pushed against it only for the Eradicator to slowly force it back. Connor’s head snapped up as he began to rise off the floor. Kara tried to force him back down, but it was clear it was a losing contest of strength. The Eradicator brought its other fist around to connect with Superwoman’s jaw. Jeju spun and collided with the floor, clearly stunned by the hit. The Eradicator stood and turned towards El.

“Weakness must be eradicated,” it said as it stepped towards the girl.

Kara leapt from behind, wrapping Connor in a headlock, pulling back with all her might. A look of momentary annoyance passed over the blank face, then the Eradicator gripped the arm around its neck and began to pull it away. Superwoman could see she was not going to be able to hold him. Jeju’s eyes connected with her daughter's. She turned back to the Eradicator and did the only thing she could do. Superwoman wrapped her other arm around him in a half-nelson, turned to the window, and jetted away.

El scrambled up on her feet and dashed towards the ruined balcony. In the distance, in the dim light of early evening, she could just barely make out a tumbling pair of figures, locked in a struggle mid-air, before they collided with a building. There was the dull sound of massive blows being exchanged, then the fight tore away around a corner of a far block. El stared after it in horror.

He was so strong. Stronger than Superwoman.

El felt hands grab her suddenly. She was turned towards her Mom, who looked the girl over quickly.

“Are you all right?” she asked. “El, are you all right?”

“He’s going to kill Jeju,” El wheezed. Her breath escaped in explosive exhales. “He’s going to kill Jeju!”

“Don’t count her out yet,” Mom replied but chanced a glimpse towards where they had just disappeared. The look on her face belied her confidence. “We have to go,” she added quickly. “We have to get you out of here.”

Lena turned back to her ruined office. She began turning over the remains of furniture searching the debris. Her target revealed itself when her phone began ringing loudly. She grabbed it off the floor.

“Alex!” she shouted.

“Kara just tore out of here!” the DEO director frantically replied. “Are you two okay?”

“We’re fine,” the dark-haired woman replied. “It was the Eradicator. Kara got him before he could get El and then flew away. They were fighting towards downtown. But, Alex, he is very strong, and he is immune to kryptonite.”

“I’m putting together a response team. We’re sending a vehicle your way.”

Lena nodded before turning to her daughter. “El, we have to go.” She looked at the girl again. “El, where are your glasses. Grab your glasses, we have to go.”

The reminder knocked the girl out of her fugue state. She reached a hand to touch her face, confirming her glasses were not there, very likely thrown off with the initial collision. She turned quickly to the room and eventually spied them laying on the floor near what was left of the couch. She took a step towards them before she stopped when she realized something.

She could see her glasses. They were sitting on the floor 15 feet from her, but she could see them. In the confusion, she hadn’t noticed she wasn’t wearing them. She hadn’t noticed she couldn’t see. Because she could.

El felt her forehead. The bloody cut seemed to be smaller than before. It didn’t hurt. She looked down at her hands, before pockmarked by glass shards. They didn’t hurt. Nothing did. She didn’t feel hurt, at all, but she did feel something else. Something she had never felt before in her entire life, and yet she thought she knew what it was. It felt almost like she thought it would feel.

El Danvers-Luthor turned to the window, where Superwoman, her Jeju had just flown out, grappled in a death struggle with the Eradicator.

“El, we have to go,” Lena repeated urgently. There was a shift in the air of the room, a breeze, possibly through the gaping hole where her office balcony had once been. She turned to her daughter. “El?”

But she was gone.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's finally here. Superwoman vs. Eradicator. But will Kara be strong enough to take down the overpowered, Kryptonian menace?  
> Or will she need some super-powered help?

Superwoman tumbled through the air, arms locked around the Eradicator. The machine-man struggled against her, and she was quickly losing the fight. Gosh, he was strong. He had nearly laid her out with one punch. But she couldn’t wonder how she would beat him. The only thought in her head was getting this thing as far away from those she loved as she could.

They bounced off another building in their careening. Kara adjusted her grip and spun, forcing them suddenly towards the ground. They collided with the pavement, bouncing off the asphalt and knocking out a sizable chunk of the street. The Eradicator finally managed to wriggle free, spinning towards Superwoman as he landed nimbly on his feet. Kara turned a loop in the air, caught the chunk of asphalt as it sailed past her and launched it towards her opponent.

Twin beams shot from the Eradicator’s eyes, blowing the boulder apart. With blinding speed, he rushed Superwoman, knocking her back. Kara stumbled on her feet and tried to right herself before the thing came back. She wasn’t fast enough.

The Eradicator tackled her into a nearby building, shattering glass as they shot through the lobby and out the other side. Kara punched and kicked, landing blows that barely seemed to register against the face of what had once been Dr. Connor. She managed to break his grip, spin, and land a back-kick sending him flying, only for the Eradicator to quickly right himself and jet back towards her. She caught him this time and turned as they went tumbling back through the air.

“Those who defend impurity will be eradicated,” the voice rasped as they soared up.

Kara threw her hands together and hammered them over Dr. Connor’s head. “Pick a different line!” she cried as she shot after him.

The Eradicator landed hard in the middle of the street, cratering the asphalt. Superwoman plunged through the sky, fists aimed towards him, ready to make the crater even deeper, ready to pound him into the center of the Earth.

There was a quick blast of heat vision, just before the impact, enough to cause Kara to just at the last moment. A hand connected with her head, twisted, and drove her into the ground as the Eradicator exchanged positions with the hero, throwing her into its crater. He punched before Kara could pick herself up. Again and again.

Finally, he pulled back. Kara looked up in the emotionless, amber-goggled face. “The weak will be eradicated,” he said and raised his fist.

Kara looked up, bruised, her body throbbing. She raised a feeble fist against the pending onslaught.

_Boom._

Something broke the sound barrier. The Eradicator’s head snapped to one side. Kara followed his gaze blearily. In the night sky, she thought she could spy something small, a figure, moving incredibly fast towards them. With the pounding in her head, she could only think, the words falling out of her mouth as the figure sped towards them, “Kal?”

What collided with the Eradicator was not Superman or Superboy, and it was only due to her super-powered vision that Kara was even able to catch sight of the figure as their fist connected with the Eradicator’s face at such inhuman speed. To her absolute shock she saw it was her daughter, El, with a look of such fury on her face. The punch picked the Eradicator right off his feet, and Superwoman could only watch as he, and the girl, went shooting down the street at supersonic velocity.

The Eradicator pitched and tumbled across the concrete, the sheer force of the blow sending him careening for what seemed like miles. When the Kryptonian computer finally managed to right its host, it looked up at its attacker. Its computational software froze as recognition dawned through its circuits. The Eradicator tilted his head in confusion. Its programming had not prepared it for this eventuality.

El Danvers-Luthor stood there, catching her breath. “Surprised?” she asked him. “Me too.”

She didn’t wait for a reply but took off at super speed, arcing around the Eradicator to land a blow to the back of his head. As he was reeling, she sped again to punch from the side, again, a kick to his chest. She kept moving. Keep him off-balance. Keep him guessing where the next one was going to come. Never was she more thankful that she had devoted more than a year of her life to studying at the Alex Danvers’ school of self-defense. They hadn’t exactly covered alien war machines, but the central idea was to make sure the other person took the hits while you didn’t, and, considering this guy was stronger than Superwoman, that seemed like the best course of action.

El punched again. The Eradicator’s hand shot up to intercept her fist. The teen quickly spun, twisting out of his grasp to plant her heel against his chin. He stumbled but righted himself quickly. The amber visage was still as emotionless, but the girl could swear he looked confused.

“Weakness will be-“ he started and stopped abruptly when El sped forward and planted two fists in his stomach.

“Weakness will be-“ the machine tried again, only for a back fist to land against his jaw.

“Weakness will be-“ came once more and was immediately met by the jab of El’s fingers against his throat.

“Pro-tip,” the girl replied. “Shorter catchphrases!”

The Eradicator’s head popped up. He looked almost angry now. The eyes glowed. El moved quickly to one side as twin, amber beams drew a line over the pavement where she had just been standing. The girl breathed, wary now of approaching the machine. Heat vision wasn’t exactly something she wanted to encounter, until she realized she did.

The Eradicator was stronger that Superwoman, but not if she ran out the battery.

“That all you got?” she taunted.

The amber goggles spun to her. She jetted away just in time to avoid another double beam. She moved quickly as a follow-up shot drew a line where her feet had been a second ago. On and on she moved at super speed around him, stopping just long enough for the goggles to find her and shifting just fast enough so the beams could miss.

“You know, for a Worldkiller,” El commented as she dodged another blast. “I got to admit.” She sped around the Eradicator, landing a blow against his cheek before pulling away. “I’m terribly underwhelmed.”

The Eradicator quickly turned. She dodged. A line of fire shot out in front of El and she spun back, only to run into her attacker. Right, he had super speed, too.

El punched. He blocked. A hand suddenly grabbed her around the throat and lifted the girl bodily into the air. The Eradicator glared at her. His eyes glowed. El struggled for a moment against his grip, looking for an exit. Bereft of one, she looked back at the machine and went with the first thing she could think of.

El blew. Connor’s hair was blown back, and, a second later, a rime of frost covered his face.

“I have freeze breath!” the girl exclaimed. “That is so cool!”

The eyes began to glow again, melting the frost. El looked down at the hand still around her neck. She concentrated. Two bright blue beams shot down and connected with the Eradicator’s fist. He dropped her suddenly.

“Heat vision!” El had to scream and punched the air. She looked back at the Eradicator and decided to punch him instead. The Kryptonian cyborg reeled back, flipped in place, then righted himself to hover off the ground. El looked back with a smirk and a nod.

“Fine,” she said. “Let’s see how fast you really are.” With that, the teen turned and sped away.

El had asked Jeju once what flying was like. Of all the powers, strength, speed, even x-ray vision, all of them felt incredible but, at the same time, explainable, like natural extensions of normal abilities. Flight, though, had always fascinated the girl, how it worked, what it felt like, how it made you feel. Kara had told her that, of all her powers, flight felt took the least amount of thought. It felt almost natural. When Superwoman flew, she wasn’t willing herself to do it, she just was doing it.

Now that El could experience the sensation herself, she had to agree. With the addendum that it was also really, freakin’ awesome.

The girl darted around city blocks. She kept low then quickly ran into traffic and so pitched high. The city skylight bled past in a blur of light and sound. She flipped mid-flight to look behind her, confirming the Eradicator was hot on her tail. She darted at a 90 degree angle and sped off, rounding a block then turning, then turning again. With a smile, she turned once more, confident she had had enough speed to lap he pursuer, but he wasn’t there. El slowed momentarily. She heard the rush a moment later and just managed to turn as Dr. Connor barreled into her.

Turns out he was pretty fast, too.

El hit the dirt in the middle of a nearby construction sight. She rolled on the ground, momentarily stunned. A shiver suddenly shot through her as superior senses registered an inrush of wind. She popped up and flipped out of the way as the Eradicator planted a foot where her chest had been a moment ago. The amber goggles tilted towards her. The girl took a quick glance around.

“All right,” she said. “Nice and free of civilians.” She turned back to her opponent and squared up. “Let’s do this.”

El landed the first blow, a quick strike that turned the man’s head. When she sped to the opposite side, though, she ran into his hand blocking her. Right, adaptable and fast. The Eradicator gripped her fist and twisted, throwing the girl over, but El had seen that move before. Alex had tried it on her a number of times. The girl let the momentum continue, spinning around and throwing her legs up around his neck. With a little Kryptonian strength, she flung him heels over head to land on his back.

El freed herself and sped away, flying to the side of the construction where steel I-beams were carefully stacked. She selected the most swingable looking one and gave it a toss in her enemy’s direction. The Eradicator’s head spun towards the flying metal, and he was on his feet in a flash to catch it. El, however, was already following the beam, planting her foot against the opposite end and pile-driving it into the cyborg’s chest, plowing him into the dirt.

She knew she should focus, strategize, keep her guard up, but the girl couldn’t deny this was a little too much fun. That’s probably why she was caught off-guard when the I-beam suddenly started moving back towards her. She flipped over, narrowly avoiding it as the steel sailed past her, and very much not avoiding the Eradicator when he swooped down and punched her towards the ground.

El cratered. She wheezed for a moment and tried to pull herself up, only for the Eradicator to land on her knees first. When the dust cloud settled, El looked up into those amber goggles.

“Weakness will be eradicated,” came the voice. He definitely looked annoyed now.

El stared back. “Well, you got to say it. Happy now?” Whatever else this fight had been, the banter was A-plus.

The Eradicator raised a fist.

A hand suddenly appeared to intercept it. He and the girl turned to see the red-and-blue-clad figure of Superwoman, somewhat worse for wear, but all strength and fury as she glared at the Kryptonian death machine.

“What did I say about hurting my family?” she said.

The Eradicator flexed against her grip, but the fist stayed in place. El almost whooped at the realization. He was weakening.

The girl threw a knee up, between his legs, hoping that, invulnerable thanks to technology, the man who had to play host to this thing still might have some sensitive parts. Thankfully, he did. Superwoman followed that up with a punch that sent him flying. El popped up by her side. She had to glance at her Jeju. Shoulder-to-shoulder with the Super, she couldn’t help the thrill that lanced down her spine.

But Superwoman had her eyes on target. “Go high!” she said.

El nodded with instant understanding. “Got it!” she replied and sped off to flank the Eradicator.

They split, coming at him from either side. Superwoman punched. El kicked. He blocked one but took the other. Both woman spun quickly. El went for his head. Kara for his legs. He stopped the daughter but missed the mother. On and on they went, keeping the machine perpetually off-balance. Angered now, the Eradicator turned and shot fire at the nearest one. Both El and Jeju split instantly, swooping around to sandwich the eugenics engine between a pair of punches.

The Eradicator reeled, visibly stunned. Superwoman grabbed the man by his coat and lifted him up.

“Batter up!” She yelled to her daughter.

El smiled, turned, and sped towards the opposite end of the construction site. She skidded to a stop in a cloud of dust as Jeju gripped the Eradicator and hurled him in the teen’s direction. El spun and hopped to connect his face with a back kick, sending him flying right back to be clotheslined by Kara.

The Eradicator landed in a heap. Both women breathed for a moment, waiting for him to move. When he didn’t, Superwoman approached him slowly.

Heat vision shot past her, throwing Kara back. The Eradicator shot to a stand and spun around, but the girl had already closed the distance. He swung. She dodged the punch and grabbed his wrist with her opposite hand, holding it tight. He threw his free hand. She dodged and caught that as well, now holding him, arms crossed in front. She smirked up at the amber goggles. They glowed.

Superwoman’s arm suddenly appeared around his neck, head-locking the cyborg. She yanked back, pointing his eyes to the sky as intense, yellow beams shot up. El pushed forward, holding him at bay while Kara held his head in place. Fire continued to pour from his size, more and more intensely. They could feel the heat but held on.

At last, the light dimmed. The heat vision seemed to sputter. At last, it stopped. El looked up at the Eradicator. The blank face looked to have diminished. The amber aura, once dark and intense, began to fade. Soon, the man they held looked like a man. Kara loosened her grip, just slightly, and El followed suit. Finally, what might just be Dr. David Connor blinked his eyes. He turned to the woman behind him.

“Sorry about this,” Superwoman said and then punched him lightly in the face. The man collapsed, unconscious.

El let him drop. She stared down at what had been, and could very well still be, the Eradicator, the last vestige of a world so obsessed with purity, it didn’t realize it was rotting from the inside out. The thing that had tried to kill her Jeju, her Mom, that had tried to kill her. She looked up at Superwoman, Kara Danvers, her mother, hardly believing they had just finished their first mother-daughter tag team. It felt like a major milestone. El opened her mouth to say something.

“Go home,” Kara said first.

El’s chin froze.

“Go home,” Jeju repeated, not mean, not even stern, but serious. “Fly home, right now, before someone sees you. You know the way I take.”

And as much as El wanted to say something, wanted her Jeju to say anything else, she knew, deep down, she couldn’t argue, she shouldn’t. The girl nodded, turned her head up, and leapt into the sky.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With the fight over, El finds herself with a load of new questions. Thankfully, she's got the best moms to help her face them.

El alighted on the balcony outside the penthouse a minute later and collapsed to her knees. The girl knelt for a moment trying to catch her breath before she realized she wasn’t hyperventilating. She wasn’t out-of-breath or tired at all, and yet she was something. Was this panic? Was this fear? She didn’t know. She was just feeling so much all at once. Everything was loud and bright and intense. She soon figured out why.

Super senses. The teen stumbled inside the apartment, closing the glass door to the balcony behind her. The noise level dropped. Thank Rao for industrial strength sound-proofing. One of the necessities of living in the big city. El breathed. She could feel it all. The hum of the traffic. The sound of a thousand electrical transformers. And somewhere, she knew, behind all the louder sounds, the beat of a million hearts.

It wasn’t painful, or even necessarily unpleasant, but it was a lot. El breathed and tried to quiet it. Soon everything became a dull roar then a quiet, background noise. Still, she felt so much. So much had happened in the last half of her life. Her entire life had changed, and not just by narrowly avoiding a painful death. She was different and she knew it and nothing would ever be the same. That could be good, that could be bad, right now it was just a lot. She closed her eyes and tried to focus on one thing, one feeling. Her body called it out to her. 

Hunger.

El found herself scrambling towards the kitchen. She stumbled to the refrigerator and grabbed for the handle. She yanked on it, briefly, then felt the metal give ever so slightly in a way that reminded her she now had the force to rip it off its hinges casually. She took another breath and gingerly opened the door. She rummaged around the contents inside for a moment before she happened upon an entire block of cheddar Mom had been saving for some recipe. She ripped back the plastic carelessly and began stuffing her face. Sated, for the moment, she leaned against a cabinet and quietly chewed. Half the block was gone before it registered to her. Hello, super metabolism. Still, she had just gotten in a fight with a Kryptonian death machine, and won. That probably warranted a snack.

She wasn’t sure how long it was that she sat on the kitchen floor, eating raw cheese. Suddenly there was the sound of a key in a lock. The next moment, the front door was frantically flung open, and Lena Luthor burst inside, quickly scanning the room. El hopped up off the ground to stare at her mother. The girl was so beside herself with new feelings, new sensations, and all their associated consequences, that her brain wasn’t sure what to deal with first. So, when Mom finally turned to her, a look of utter relief and yet total shock on her face, there was only one thing the teen could say.

“I ate all the cheese,” El spoke, holding up the remains of the cheddar for evidence. “I’m sorry.”

The dark-haired woman immediately ignored this, stepped towards the girl, and wrapped her in a deep hug. Somewhere, cheddar dropped to the floor, as El desperately hugged her back. She could feel Mom’s heart race, her breath coming in ragged gasps. The girl’s came too.

“I didn’t know, Mom,” she rasped. “I swear I didn’t know.”

Lena leaned back, surveying her daughter’s face. Tears stained her cheeks and green eyes shown with love. She kissed El on the cheek, then the other, then the first again.

“It’s okay, baby,” she said. “It’s okay.” She leaned back again and gave El a serious once-over. “Are you okay?”

El nodded, almost manically. She was better than okay. She was super. But that came with its own set of problems. “Everything’s really loud,” she admitted.

“That’s all right, baby,” Lena cooed. “We’ll work on it. I’m just glad you’re okay.” She wrapped her daughter up in her arms again. El clutched back at her and listened to the steady thrum in the woman’s chest. She probably hadn’t really heard her mother’s heartbeat this well since the womb, but she never knew how much she missed feeling it until now.

“I…” the girl tried. “I just… I didn’t want him to hurt Jeju.”

“I know, baby,” Mom said and clutched her tighter. El mirrored, desperate for the contact, for something to ground her right now as a whole universe of possibility threatened to overwhelm her. “Baby?” Mom said.

“Yes?”

“Too tight.”

El flung her hands away and stepped back with near super speed. “I’m sorry!” She said, shaking. “I’m so sorry.”

Lena grabbed after her quickly. “It’s okay, sweetie. Your Jeju does that all the time when she gets excited.” She wrapped the girl up tightly again. “I’m not hurt, I promise.”

El put her hands to her mother’s sides and just held them there. Too much thought for movement right now. In answer, Mom squeezed her even tighter, maybe as tight as she had always wanted to, confident now that there was no way it would make her daughter uncomfortable. Quite the opposite. El let herself be squeezed.

Neither was sure how long they stood like that, tightly embraced, only that neither had any intention of parting any time soon, only that one set of arms was missing from the hug. It landed soon enough on the balcony.

Lena turned, followed quickly by El, as Superwoman stepped through the door and stared at her family. Kara still looked a bit worn, the suit would need repair, but bruises were healing, and it was quite clear she had rushed here as soon as she had been able.

Jeju stepped towards Mom, and they hugged quickly.

“I’m okay,” said Mom.

“Me, too,” said Jeju.

They held each other for a long second, then turned to El. Kara stepped forward, wrapped her hands around her daughter’s face, and kissed her forehead. El realized she was crying, then again, so was the girl.

“Are you okay, little one?” Kara whispered.

El nodded. She breathed. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I know it was… foolish. I just… I could feel it all. It was just like you always said. I could feel it, and I just had to do something with it.”

Kara hugged her tightly, maybe super tightly, but the girl didn’t complain. The blonde hero kissed the girl’s cheek. 

“Are you mad?” El had to ask.

“Mad?” Said Jeju. She leaned back, tears and a smile playing across her face. “No, little one. I’m not mad. I could never be. I didn’t mean to make you think I was. I just wanted to get you out of there before someone saw.” Kara kissed El’s forehead again. “I’m not mad,” she repeated with a laugh. “That was actually pretty awesome.”

“Really?” The girl asked with a sniffle.

“Yeah,” Jeju admitted. “You were so cool.”

The girl nodded. She had been. She was. 

“We make a good team,” she said.

Mom stepped near, and Lena and Kara sandwiched their girl in an embrace that El melted happily into. They were all safe. Most of all, they were all together.

“Ellie, how do you feel?” Mom asked. The panic moment passed, now it was time for the serious questions. Here, again, the girl had too many feelings to properly order. Her body answered for her.

“Starving,” she said.

Kara chuckled. Lena squeezed El’s shoulders.

“All right,” Mom said. “I’ll get some leftovers going. I’ve been meaning to clean out the fridge.” She ran her hands through El’s hair, then looked at her hand with concern. “Why don’t you go wash up, baby?” She suggested. “I think you still have asphalt in your hair.”

El rubbed her own scalp to confirm. It had only just occurred to her that she probably looked like a mess. She looked at Jeju and raised her eyebrows to suggest she might not be the only one. Knock-down, alien fights tended to do that. 

She padded down the stairs to her room. On the way to the sink, she spied Streaky lounged on the bed, quietly cleaning himself, unaware or uncaring at any of the events of the evening. El looked at him and made a mental note to practice petting softly. There were things she had to be aware of now. She started making a list. 

El washed and changed. She was rinsing her face when her newly acquired, super hearing tuned into the conversation upstairs.

“It’s been a long time since you scared me that badly,” Mom said. Her breathing was steady but heavy.

“I know,” Jeju said. “I’m sorry.”

“I just think, “ Mom replied. “If El hadn’t… But then, what if I had lost her too?”

El heard a soft exhale and knew Jeju was squeezing her wife tight. “You didn’t,” the blonde woman said. “We’re here. All of us. That’s all that matters.”

They breathed together for the longest time.

“Things will change,” Lena said. “They have already.”

“I know.”

“We have to be careful with her,” said Mom. “She has to know this won’t, can’t change how we feel about her.”

“I know,” said Jeju. “She’s still our baby. She’s always been.”

“I’m ashamed to say I’m scared.”

“You don’t have to be ashamed. So am I.”

“She wanted this so badly.”

“I know, but we would have loved her anyways, right?”

“Of course.”

“So, it’s just a new thing. What are you always saying? It’s just a bump, a new factor to consider. We will solve it together. All of us.”

Lena huffed a breath. “Stronger together.”

“Exactly,” Kara laughed softly. “That’s why we gave her that name. To remind her, to remind us. Every time we get to look at her, we know.”

“She’s the best of us.” Mom breathed quietly for a minute. “Do you know… I mean, I guess it doesn’t matter, but… Why now? I talked with Alex. They tried adrenaline. They tried reaction to danger. If she always had this in her, if she was going to get her powers, why now? Why not when he first grabbed her?”

There was the sound of fingers carding through hair gently. “I think I know why,” Jeju said. “It wasn’t because she was in danger. It’s because we were. Lena,” Kara added, a smile in her voice. “Our daughter became a superhero because someone else was in danger.”

Mom gasped, relief and pride all mixed together in it. “The best.”

“The best,” Jeju agreed.

El heard the soft sound of lips meeting, then the exhale as the kiss deepened. The girl smiled to herself, then mentally added ‘Figure out super-hearing’ to the top of her list. Because there were some things that went on in this house that she definitely did not want to accidentally overhear.


	25. Chapter 25

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And it ends where it began, with love. With new prospects on the horizon, El Mayarah knows she's not alone for this next chapter.
> 
> Long one, but, hey, it's the finale!

The next day was spent entirely at the DEO where El underwent test after test on her powers. Speed, strength, senses, she seemed to have them all in at least a comparable degree to Superwoman. It was invigorating and not a little satisfying for the girl to push agains the lift machine and watch the meter max out. The question remained, unspoken, of their permanence in all this. The teen couldn’t deny waking up that morning with the sudden dread that, whatever had brought them on, this was somehow a one-time thing. However, things seemed to be more or less stable. Only time would tell.

“Impressive,” Alex commented as she handed El a towel, not that the girl needed it. She had barely broken a sweat. “And I don’t mean just this,” the DEO Director added with a motion to the training room. “I mean your fight last night.”

El had to smile. “Pretty cool, right?”

“Well, jetting through the city without a costume isn’t exactly what I’d call advisable,” her aunt couldn’t help but add with a smirk. “Still, it’s nice to know you were paying attention during sparring.”

El nodded. “The Eradicator’s got nothing on you.”

“Good to know.”

El twisted the towel around her hands briefly, lost in thought. “I wanted to say ‘thank you’.”

“Kiddo, this was never a job for me, I promise,” said Alex. “I like spending time with you. Knowing you were getting some kind of education out of it just sweetened the pot.”

“Not that,” El answered with a shake of her head. “I mean all of this.” She, too, motioned to the room. She curled her arm and watched the muscle tense. “I know this is probably not what you wanted for me.”

Alex sat down on the bench next to her niece and threw an arm around her shoulders. “I want you to be happy. With exactly who you are right now. That’s all I’ve ever cared about. All any of us have ever cared about.”

She squeezed the girl. El lay her head on her aunt’s shoulder.

“I should thank you, though,” Alex added. El glanced up at her. “I got a call from Astrid.”

The girl smiled. Alex nodded knowingly.

“You were right,” the redhead continued. “All it took was someone to break the nice, and, as usual…”

“It was Kelly.”

Alex had to laugh. “Yeah.” She looked at El lovingly. “We’re having a little video-call dinner tomorrow night, just the three of us.”

El beamed. “It’ll be great.” With that she stood to her feet and stepped out on the matted floor. The teen swung her arms idly. “So, I was thinking about a rematch.”

Alex raised an eyebrow. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“Well,” the girl responded with a smirk. “If you don’t think you’re up for it?”

Director Danvers rose to her feet. “You know, your Jeju and I sparred all the time back in the day.”

“Under red sun lamps,” the girl shot back.

“No,” the woman corrected. “With a kryptonite-powered exosuit.”

El shrugged. “If you want to go get it, I can wait.”

Alex huffed. “Kid, you still have a lot to learn.”

“Like?”

“Like when to taunt your opponents,” Alex replied. “And when to come out-“

El caught the fist an inch from her face.

“Swinging,” her aunt finished. She glanced momentarily at her own hand clasped in her niece’s. She smiled. 

The girl smiled. “Oh, this is going to be fun.”

* * *

The remainder of the day’s tests didn’t show anything more shocking in the girl than a very much Kryptonian-derived appetite. Alex sent El home late in the evening, but not before the teen got a look at a very recognizable man in one of the isolation labs.

Brainy had been spending the last 24 hours studying the Eradicator. El and Superwoman’s fight had indeed accomplished the goal of draining the power reserves for the machine such that the matrix was forced to shut down. The results from initial tests looked good that they would be able to remove the nanotech from the host body. Dr. David Connor might just make a full recovery.

By the time El got back to the penthouse it was late. Mom had been busy all day overseeing damage control at L-Corp headquarters. Considering the building’s, and the CEO’s, history, the staff was somewhat used to super-powered fights causing structural damage. Jeju had been focusing on CatCo. Her time spent hunting down the Eradicator had pushed back some important work to some serious deadlines. So El caught the barest glimpse of the both of them when she got home. There was a bit of talk after dinner, but there was the general feeling that they could all do with some rest, especially with El going back to school the next day, and, the teen suspected, both of her moms were very much looking forward to sharing a bed once more.

The next morning came much as it had a month or two ago. El awoke to the sound of her Mom calling.

“El!”

The teen rolled onto her back to discover she was, once again, wearing a feline sleep mask.

“Streaky,” she said calmly. “I don’t want to say ‘I have heat vision’, but, at the same time, you know I have heat vision, right?”

With annoyed _mrrw_ the cat hopped off the bed. El flung the sheets aside and swung her feet down to the floor. She breathed. She grabbed her glasses off the nightstand and put them on her face, quite out of habit. It wasn’t until they were there that she remembered she didn’t need them anymore. The girl fiddled with the idea of going without them entirely. Then again, she was reminded that, among other things that she now had to keep in mind, appearances was one of them.

“El!” Came the voice a second time.

El breathed again. Then an idea occurred to her. She smiled. What had taken the girl minutes a few days before was completed in a matter of seconds, and she was up the stairs and standing directly behind her Mom, when the woman called a third time.

“El,” she said. “I’m not calling-“

“Morning!”

Lena yelped and spun around, nearly dropping her spatula. Her daughter smiled, so much like her Jeju. The woman sighed.

“I forgot you can do that now,” she said with a shake of her head.

El tried not to laugh as she grabbed a plate and held it out, the aroma of pancakes already sending a thrill through her. Lena slid a short stack onto her plate and turned back to the stove. El looked at the plate, back at her Mom, and held it out expectantly. Mom also considered the plate, then rolled her eyes. She lifted the rest of the pancakes onto it.

“I’ll make more,” she said.

El leaned in and planted a kiss on the woman’s cheek. Lena smiled. El padded to the table and laid into her breakfast, making a brief pause to grab the syrup from the fridge. Jeju emerged a few minutes later.

“Good morning,” she said as she stepped towards her wife, who met her lips in a quick but thoughtful kiss. The blonde woman smiled then looked down at the short stack of pancakes waiting for her.

Lena gestured with the spatula towards their daughter. “There’s two of you now,” she said. To Jeju’s pouting lip, she added, “I’m making more.”

Another kiss followed and Jeju joined her daughter at the table.

“Excited for school?” She asked the girl.

El could only shrug. “Considering I had time to catch up on pretty much the whole semester, I think I’m going to be bored out of my mind.”

“Normalcy has its benefits,” Mom added as she joined them, reaching over to plant a kiss on the girl’s hair before taking her seat next to Jeju. “After the past few weeks, I think we can all use some boring.” The comment was as much to El as Kara, and neither of them could argue the point.

“However,” Jeju was quick to add. “Your Mom and I did want to do something special for you this evening. If that’s all right.”

El looked between them, then glanced at her plate, nearly empty. “Does it involve food?”

Jeju nodded with a wide grin. 

“It’s been too long since we’ve all had an evening together,” Lena pointed out. “At least one that was halfway _normal_.” The emphasis made it clear that was a word they were all going to work on redefining together. “And, as your Jeju likes to point out, no one died, so that feels like a reason to celebrate.”

The teen saw no reason to disagree with that.

Breakfast was completed, and they all made preparations to go about their respective days. El was, somewhat, disappointed to find that Mom was willing to carpool with her to school. When the teen very casually and, she thought, logically mentioned that ground transportation hardly seemed fitting anymore, the woman fixed with a very quiet, yet serious stare. The girl chose not to provide rebuttal.

School was boring, but in a way that the girl had to admit was nice considering what she had been dealing with lately. Her friends were glad to see her back after an extended absence, due to, they thought, sickness. As she feared, El was very much ahead of the class and likely would be for the remainder of her senior year. More than a few of her teachers made mention of working on “additional projects” for her, and the way they framed it confirmed to the girl that they had all gotten a call from a certain CEO to discuss her daughter’s continued education.

When the final bell rang, El happily exited the building to greet the shining sun. Somehow, just knowing the bright, yellow rays were being absorbed by her DNA made the girl all the more thankful. She was considering, for all of a second, whether to take the bus or, possibly, if she could get away with a little flying. She had spent a good portion of the day staring out the window. It was just something you couldn’t really get out of your head once you actually experienced it. However, the question of whether or not she should and whether or not her parents would find out was quickly answered by the car already waiting for her at the curb.

Charles gave her a brief salute then started driving the moment she was inside. El watched the city pass them by until they were at the entrance of L-Corp Worldwide. The girl let herself past the security desk and up the elevator to the top floor. When she stepped out, Hope gave her a warm smile and a nod.

“Hey, El,” she said with a motion to the door. “You can go right on in.”

El stepped through the door to find her Mom sitting behind her desk. The office was a lot cleaner than it had been the last time the girl had seen it. The glass and dust were swept away, and it appeared as if the crater a certain Kryptonian eugenics engine had left in the floor was already filled in. The couch and desk, too, had been replaced. The only thing not quite there yet was the balcony. Large construction banners covered the whole wall where the window had once been.

“Hello, sweetie,” Mom said once the girl stepped inside.

“Hi, Mom,” El replied. She crossed the floor, set her stuff on the replaced coffee table and slid down to the couch. She motioned to the curtains. “I see construction is already underway.”

“Not the first time I’ve had to have the balcony repaired,” the CEO replied. 

El glanced around the room. The wet bar hadn’t been replaced yet, and there were one or two divots in the walls that probably hadn’t been there before. “You ever worried about what your business partners must think?”

“Oh, no,” the woman insisted. “In fact, I had a couple of conference calls today. I like the image it presents.” She motioned to the curtains. “Even under repair, still hard at work.” 

The woman stood and crossed from behind her desk. She grabbed two drinks that had been sitting on the corner and stepped towards the girl. She held one out to El. It was covered in a plastic dome, under which was a veritable mountain of whipped cream dusted with blue and red sprinkles.

“Fudge brownie, hot chocolate, three pumps of peppermint, sprinkles, and an ungodly amount of sugar,” Lena said as she slid down to sit next to her daughter. “At Noonan’s, they call that the ‘Kara Special’.”

El smiled as she took it. She took a deep draw from the straw. Oh, that was the stuff. Lena sipped her latte for a minute in silence. Finally, the girl had to ask.

“You sent a car,” she said.

Mom nodded.

“Did you not trust that I wouldn’t fly home?”

“No,” Mom said. El waited. “Maybe a little,” she added. She turned to her daughter, sincerity on her face. “Mostly, I just wanted a chance to check in.” The dark-haired woman swept a finger over her daughter’s short locks. “A lot has happened, and I want to make sure it’s all okay.”

El bit her lip. She should have been expecting this conversation. She had been, almost, but there was so much elation, emotion with her new powers, it had been easy to put any doubts aside.

“Are you mad?” She asked.

“No, baby,” said Lena. “Not even disappointed. I could never be.” She sighed. “I am worried, though, but I’m your Mom, that’s just natural.”

“I guess it was kind of scary,” El said. “The Eradicator coming for me, then taking Jeju, and then me going after them.”

Lena nodded. “It was, but I want you to know I was very proud of you. It takes more than powers to stand against something like that. It takes courage.”

El smiled. “I had a good example.” She laughed. “You were pretty badass, Mom.”

For a moment, it looked like the woman might comment on the choice of language. Instead, she just smiled as well and threw an arm around her daughter. “I was, wasn’t I?”

El cuddled against the woman. She felt a soft hand rest on her hair. 

“I want you to know,” Lena said softly. “That with all that’s changed, what really matters won’t.”

El looked up at her mother.

“Jeju and I still love you,” she continued. “Just as much as we always have. Baby, we weren’t waiting for you to get your powers. We weren’t waiting for anything. We’ll never be waiting to love you; we just do.”

The woman moved to hold the girl’s face in her hands. Green eyes looked into green eyes.

“I know how exciting this is for you,” Mom said. “And you deserve to be excited, but I also want you to know it doesn’t have to change anything. You having powers doesn’t mean you have to be any one thing. You don’t have to replace your Jeju. You don’t even have to be a superhero, if you don’t want. That’s your decision.”

El’s mouth opened. Mom held up a hand.

“If you want to, of course, then you can,” Lena added. “You can still be whatever you want to be. Nothing’s set in stone. Nothing. If you want to be a superhero, or a reporter, or a badass, business woman.”

El smiled. “Or a garbage collector?”

Lena smiled back. She nodded. 

“Don’t you think I have an obligation?” The girl asked. “To use my powers for good.”

Lena sighed and nodded again. “Yes, but there’s a lot of good you can do that has nothing to do with fighting aliens, and I’m not just saying that because you’re my daughter and I’m going to worry. I’m saying that because you are a person who deserves to be able to decide how they are going to make the world better, without any pressure from others.”

El looked up at her mother and wondered how she got this lucky. Powers and love. It felt like more than she could possibly deserve.

The woman held up a finger. “All that being said, I also need you to know that whatever you choose to do, whatever happens, that can never change how we feel about you.”

El nodded. Lena still looked serious.

“I need you to understand that,” she sighed heavily. “Because, all of this, can be very good, but it also has the potential for a lot of self-image issues, and nothing good can come from attaching your self-worth to accomplishments. Trust me.” Lena sighed again, tears tinged her eyes. “Ellie, it has never mattered what you were capable of, what you could do. You’re smart, you’re brave. Those are good things, but they aren’t the reason we love you. If you were fast or slow, tall or short, these are just facts. If you could run, if you couldn’t. If you could fly or not, and I swear I’m not trying to sound ableist, but if you were different in any way, it wouldn’t make a difference. We would still love you more than life itself.” She cradled the girl’s face in her hands tighter. “If the powers last or if they don’t. I’m not saying they will, but I am saying they don’t change anything whether you have them or not.” Lena sniffled. “And I need you to understand that because, sooner or later, maybe not today, maybe not anytime soon, but one day, you will be faced with that doubt that tells you that you are only valuable if you are strong and fast, and I want to tell you now, and I will repeat it to you everyday of your life if I have to, that that thought is a lie. I love you, Ellie baby, and I will never stop.”

El stared at her mother, tears stinging her own eyes. Lena pressed a kiss to her forehead, and the girl curled into her chest, so terribly grateful for her entire life. Powers or not, she could never have asked for better than this.

“I love you, Mom.”

“I love you, sweetie.”

They held each other tightly. Finally, they parted. Tissues were passed around shortly after. When they had more or less collected themselves, Mom produced a small box from the side table. It was a glasses case, and, when the girl opened it, she found a pair of glasses, identical to the ones she was wearing.

“They’re lead-lined,” Mom answered for her. “Just like your Jeju’s.”

El smiled, took off her own, and put them on. Having spent most of the day staring over the rims to avoid the effect of the, now unnecessary, prescription lenses, it was a relief to push them up the bridge of her nose. 

“Thanks, Mom,” she said. El sighed herself. After everything they had said, she still felt the need to ask. “Is it okay if I do become a superhero?”

“If that’s what you really want,” she replied, clutching the girl’s shoulders. “There’s still time, of course. Your whole life. You can be whatever you want, for however long you want.”

El nodded her understanding.

“Speaking of which,” Lena continued. “NCU.”

El breathed.

“I know you were holding off leaving in case… Well, in case this exact thing happened,” Mom said. “I just want you to know, this doesn’t have to change things. If you want to go to school anywhere, you can go there. You don’t have to stay here.”

“I know,” El replied. She fiddled self-consciously with her glasses. “I just think, it’s like you said, a lot’s change. I know the reason I originally wanted to stay, but now I think I have a better reason.” She gripped her Mom’s hand. “With all that’s happened and is going to happen, I think I could really use a safe place. I think I still need people to guide me, especially now.” She looked down and laced her fingers with Lena’s. “I think I still need home.”

Mom smiled and kissed her temple. “Then you stay as long as you need to. You’ll get no argument from us.”

“I mean I still want to visit MIT,” the girl added. “If only to see what made you you.”

Lena smiled. “Oh, we’ll definitely go.” 

She reached over to the table again and produced a square box. She handed it to the girl. El opened it curiously. She pulled out a coffee mug, black, with the letters NCU stenciled on the side. She looked up at her Mom.

“I had a feeling I knew what you were going to say,” Lena said.

El smiled. She turned it over. “I guess I could drink cocoa out of it.”

“Oh no, sweetie,” Mom corrected. She took the cup from El. “This is mine.” She held it towards her desk. “It’s going to go right there next to my computer.”

El smiled and hugged her Mom again. Lena kissed the top of her head and held her lips there for some time.

“Now,” she said at last, parting from the girl. “Let’s head home. According to your Jeju, we are in for quite a feast. The word ‘smorgasbord’ may have been used.”

El grinned. “She ordered potstickers, didn’t she?”

“An exorbitant amount, I’m sure,” said Lena. “It’s nice to know we’ll be keeping China One in business for years to come.”

* * *

At home, they were greeted immediately by the smells of a lot of food. Potstickers were, indeed, the crown jewel, but they were not alone. Smorgasbord was an apt description. Mom went to change, and El was left to drool over the sheer amount of food. Jeju sidled up beside her and nudged the girl with an elbow.

“Hey,” she said.

“Hey,” El said back.

“I understand your Mom may have already given you the ‘everything changes but nothing’s changed’ speech, huh?”

El nodded.

Jeju looked momentarily disappointed. “I figured,” she said. “She’s good at those, but if you aren’t already sick of hearing how much we love you…”

“No, I could stand to hear a bit more,” the girl said with a smirk.

Jeju wrapped an around her daughter and brought her close. “We love you, El. Powers, no powers, brains, no brains. You want to fight crime, you want to rid the world of litter, it doesn’t matter.” The blonde woman looked off in thought for a moment. “Come to think of it, ridding the world of litter would be legitimately amazing. Don’t count it out.”

El laughed. Jeju turned the girl to look her in the eyes.

“I won’t lie. I’m excited for you, for us,” she said. “But nothing you do or don’t do could ever make us love you more. Little one, you couldn’t pay us to. Personally, I couldn’t love you more if you looked exactly like me, or exactly like your Mom. I love you more than anything. More than…” She stared around the room and landed on the only thing appropriate. “Potstickers. And we both know how serious that is.”

The girl chuckled. She glanced at the table as well. “What if I was made of potstickers?” She asked.

“If you were made of potstickers?” Kara said. “I would stop eating potstickers. That’s how much I love you.”

El smiled. Kara pulled her close and just breathed her daughter in.

“I swear, I have loved you since the day I met you,” Jeju said softly into the girl’s hair. “It is the most natural thing.” She pulled back. “I told you what flying was like, right?”

“Yeah,” El replied. She had firsthand experience now. “No thought, just doing.”

Kara smiled. “Loving you is like flying, little one.” She kissed her daughter’s forehead.

Lena returned, dressed much more comfortably in sweats, and they dug in. The dark-haired woman watched for a few minutes, slack-jawed as her wife and daughter piled an inhuman amount of food on their plates.

“Dear Rao, the two of you are going to eat me out of house and home, aren’t you?” She said.

Jeju and El exchanged glances.

“Yeah,” said the girl.

They parked on the couch for round one of what was sure to be a night full of food. El was in the middle of her dozenth or so potsticker when she caught her moms staring at her.

“What?” She asked.

“We need to establish some ground rules,” Lena said.

The dumpling nearly tumbled out of her mouth, and here the girl thought, what with college sorted, they were past awkward conversations.

Lena held up a finger. “No powers until you graduate.”

The potsticker really did drop this time. El barely caught it.

“What?” She asked. The girl stared between her adoring parents, dumbfounded. “But I just got them!”

Lena shook her head. “No powers. No superheroing until you graduate.” She swiped her hand horizontally. “Non-negotiable. School comes first, then we can talk about the cape, if that’s still what you want.”

“But… But…” the girl stuttered. “But what if Jeju needs my help?”

“Jeju has done fine on her own for longer than you’ve been alive, young lady,” said Mom. “We appreciate you stepping in, but that is not going to be a regular occurrence, not for the time being.”

“But what if there’s a world-ending, super crisis?” The girl objected. “What if the multiverse collapses again?” She stared at Lena. The woman opened her mouth. El held up a finger. “It could happen. You don’t know!”

Lena sighed. “Fine,” she said. “If, and that’s a big IF, the world is under imminent and exorbitant threat, then we will discuss the possibility of you assisting.”

The girl looked damn near gut-punched. She turned quickly to her Jeju for support. The blonde woman only shook her head.

“You’re not going to win this argument, little one,” she chuckled.

El’s shoulders slumped. “Fine,” she admitted and stuffed a potsticker in her mouth.

Mom help up two fingers. “Two nights a week you will train at the DEO with your Jeju and your Aunt Alex.”

The girl let herself feel relief. It was not what she wanted, but it was so much better than nothing. Still, she had to ask.

“Could we maybe negotiate 4 nights a week?” 

“No,” Mom answered.

“Fine, I’ll settle for 3,” said the girl.

“You’ll settle for 2,” Lena replied, once again proving who was the skilled negotiator in this house.

El glanced at Kara, who raised her eyebrows in the universal sign of ‘Mom is always right.’

“Okay,” said El.

Mom held up three fingers. “You will decide how you want to use your powers,” she said and leaned towards the girl. “When you are ready. Not a minute before, and we both promise that we will support whatever decision you make.”

El sighed then smiled. “Agreed,” she said.

“Good,” said Lena. 

She leaned forward to kiss the girl on her cheek. Jeju suddenly appeared from behind the teen to plant a kiss on her opposite cheek. They could be stupid cute sometimes.

The evening progressed, quickly turning into an impromptu contest between El and Kara to see who was going to consume the most potstickers. When that was done, meaning when Lena told them to cut it out and sit on the couch so they could cuddle properly without food flying all over the place, they set about to forming their normal pile of blankets and warm bodies on the sofa.

Wrapped up in the physical and emotional warmth of her mothers, El Mayarah Danvers-Luthor once again thanked her lucky stars. A lot had changed. A lot more would change. But, through it all, she could look at the future with optimism, with staggering hope. Because she was surrounded by amazing people, she could face it all.

Whatever comes next.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It has been amazing to see the response to this story. Thank you to everyone who continues to read and comment and drop kudos. You make this so much more than worth it.
> 
> Let's hang out on social media  
> Twitter: @douglas_amongus  
> Instagram: @douglas_amongus  
> Tumblr: douglasamongus

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks so much for the kudos and comments!  
> Let's hang out on social media  
> Twitter: @douglas_amongus  
> Instagram: @douglas_amongus  
> Tumblr: douglasamongus


End file.
